Heavensent
by FandomFluid
Summary: On the day he was born, Dean Winchester was assigned a Guardian Angel, Castiel. For an Angel who just wants to do his job, Dean makes it increasingly difficult to keep him safe as he gets older and more and more reckless. College is going to be Hell.
1. Chapter 1

Wednesday, January 24, 1979. A baby boy is born to a couple at just after nine in the morning. The labor wasn't overly difficult, though that could be credited to the epidurals. The hardest and longest part had been the contractions.

The baby boy weighed in at eight pounds and five ounces. He was perfectly healthy, with ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, and two ears and the perfect amount of everything else he needed. He was named Dean, John and Mary's firstborn son.

Just about three weeks later, Dean was baptized in the local United Methodist Church. He was dressed in the old, white family baptismal gown that had been worn by Winchester babies since the early twentieth century.

"Pay close attention, Castiel. It is your duty to guard and protect this child." Michael said, watching over the ceremony next to the smaller angel.

"Understood." Castiel replied, looking down at the little human baby. "Is there any protocol that I must follow?"

"Nothing standard. Guardians tend to take different approaches at different times." Michael replied. "If you must make yourself known to him, take a vessel. Unless they're chosen as prophets, humans can't perceive us in our natural state. Hearing our voices or seeing us would scramble their brains and they would never recover."

Castiel nodded in understanding, continuing to watch the tiny baby he'd been assigned to. Guarding a baby couldn't be that hard. He just had to keep the child safe and alive. John and Mary did a rather good job of that, themselves.

Things got harder as Dean grew more and more conscious of himself and the world around him. When the baby began to crawl, Castiel began to come down to him as a gentle, invisible force that would push him away when he was getting too close to falling down the stairs or curiously sticking his fingers in the electrical outlets or putting things in his mouth that he wasn't supposed to.

When Dean was about three years old, John and Mary started talking about giving Dean a sibling. Castiel found a new job in keeping the toddler sleeping soundly while the pair was busy at night. He would come as a gentle force again, petting Dean's hair and rubbing his back to soothe the little boy back to sleep.

On Sunday, May 1, 1983, Mary Winchester started having contractions and was driven to the hospital. Dean had been left at home with his babysitter, and Castiel stayed by his side to make sure he stayed safe. The babysitter was a sixteen year old girl who went by Vicky. She liked to talk to her friends on the phone while Dean played or watched TV. That time, Castiel came to Dean as a figment of his imagination.

"Vicky, look! This is, um…" Dean said, showing the teenager the crayon drawing he'd created, trying to think of a name for his friend in the picture. He looked to his side where he could swear he saw a floating orb of white light. "Cassie!" He decided once his imaginary friend had told him his name.

"Cassie? Is Cassie friendly?" Vicky asked Dean curiously, admiring the simple drawing that depicted what she assumed was a person and a blue circle hovering by the person's side. It was hard to tell, though, because the 'person' was depicted through a circle with a smiley face inside it and four lines emerging from where arms and legs might be.

"Mmm hmm! Cassie doesn't talk lots, though, but we're friends." Dean said with a happy smile. "Cassie loves me. Cassie loves everyone."

"Well, Cassie sounds like a very nice girl. Hey, are you hungry?" Vicky replied to him with a small smile.

"Cassie's not a girl!"

"I'm sorry. Cassie seems like a very nice boy."

"Cassie's not a boy, either!"

"Well, what is he, then?"

"I dunno. Cassie's just Cassie. Cassie's a pretty light."

Vicky blinked at the assertion but smiled a bit, silently hoping Dean stayed that imaginative. "Alright, I'll make sure to remember that. I wouldn't want to offend Cassie. Now, are you hungry?"

"Yeah!" Dean said with a happy nod, following Vicky off to the kitchen where food was prepared and in the fridge, only needing to be heated up.

"Is Cassie hungry, too?"

"I dunno. Lemme ask." Dean replied, turning to the orb only he could see by his side. "Are you hungry, Cassie? Okay, I'll tell her. Cassie says 'thank you,' but Cassie isn't hungry. Cassie doesn't need to eat like us people do."

"Alright, well, how do hot dogs and macaroni sound to you?" Vicky asked with a smile to Dean.

"Yummy!"

"Great. Go get washed up, it'll only take a minute or two."

Dean nodded and ran off to the bathroom, sliding out the step stool he always used to get at the sink. He stepped up on it and washed his hands excitedly, almost falling off the stool when he moved too quickly and carelessly to step down, though he was quickly grasped by his new friend, the orb, and settled on his feet once again. He grinned at the orb before running off to the kitchen again to eat the dinner that had been prepared for him.

"Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let this food by you be blessed. Amen." Dean prayed after Cassie reminded him to.

After dinner, Vicky gave Dean his bath, dressed him in his pajamas, read him a bedtime story.

"Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen." Dean prayed after the story and before he settled into his bed.

"Goodnight, Dean." Vicky said, turning on the teddy bear shaped night light on his wall.

"You gotta say that angels are watching over me. Mama always says that." Dean said to her.

"Alright. Angels are watching over you, Dean."

Dean smiled at that and shut his eyes to fall asleep, happily imagining that the friendly orb was stroking his hair, rubbing his back, and singing him a slow, gentle hymn as a lullaby.

Castiel continued to appear to Dean as a figment of his imagination the next day, then the next, until the boy had outgrown having imaginary friends and would rather spend his time with tangible friends.

Dean continued to grow and grow. It wasn't until Dean started middle school when Castiel figured he might need find a better approach since Dean was becoming more and more of a risk-taker and much more reckless. It was time for Castiel to find a vessel.

Finding a proper vessel was a science in and of itself. First, he had to listen to prayers to find someone willing and asking to be a servant to the Lord in any way. Thankfully, he found that in a teenager named Jimmy.

The next step was making contact. He had to find a way to speak to Jimmy without harming him. This would be difficult, though, since ordinary humans wouldn't be able to perceive his true voice directly.

So, Castiel decided to try the TV first.

Jimmy was watching TV leisurely when the show cut out to static. The room was filled with a loud screeching sound for a few seconds before the television set and all the lights burst in bright fits of sparks. The power in the rest of the foster home had gone out as well. The first attempt at contact with Jimmy had ended unsuccessfully.

Castiel decided to take a more archaic approach next, and visited Jimmy in one of his dreams.

"Jimmy." He said.

"What? Who said that?" Jimmy asked in his sleep.

"It was I. Do not be afraid. My name is Castiel, I am an angel of the Lord. I bring tidings of peace and joy."

"Oh, um, alright. What are they, Castiel?"

"Your prayers have been heard and will be answered. You asked to become a servant to the Lord in a Holy Mission for him. I am on a Holy Mission as a Guardian and am in need of a vessel. You have a pure soul and unconditional faith. I have chosen you as my candidate."

"You chose me as your vessel."

"That is correct."

"What would happen if I said yes?"

"My Grace would fill your body and I would take control of your body and actions. Your body would serve as mine while I need it. Those who agree to serve as a vessel to an angel are blessed by the Lord and receive unconditional entrance to Paradise at the end of their lives."

"Alright. Then, what happens if I say 'no?' Am I punished at all?"

"No punishment will befall you if you were to refuse me. I will simply find someone else."

"Okay. So, I can give up autonomy to you and get a full ride into Heaven. Or, I can refuse and go on with my life?"

"That is correct."  
"Do all angels speak so… stiffly?"

"I do not know what that has to do with anything, Jimmy."

"Alright, alright, never mind. I'll let you use me as a vessel, Castiel."

"Thank you." Castiel said before letting himself into the teenager's body.

After his Grace had settled into the new body around him, he opened his eyes and sat up to look around the room he was in. He got up out of the bed and dressed his new body in a pair of jeans and a warm sweater. Once he'd put on socks and shoes, he left the room to start finding his way out of the foster home. He wound his way through the hallways and down the stairs, focusing only on leaving rather than the other little kids in the home.

"Jimmy! Jimmy, where are you going?" A little girl called after him, her hand grasping the back of his sweater.

Castiel turned around and looked down at the little girl, his blue eyes meeting her dark brown ones. The little girl had confusion etched onto her face.

"I'm afraid Jimmy isn't here anymore." Castiel replied, gently removing her hand from his sweater, then turning and walking away as the girl watched him in confusion until he vanished without a trace, as if into thin air.

Castiel reappeared in Lawrence, Kansas, just outside and across the street from the Winchester house.

"Sam, Dean! Come inside, it's time for dinner!" he heard Mary call.

"We'll be right in, Mom!" Sam called back from the side yard where he was hastily trying to help wipe away the blood that was dripping from Dean's nose.

Castiel watched everything from afar before moving to cross the street and go over to the brothers. It had to be expected that Dean would get hurt in a fight in the short amount of time he was away from him. Without a word, he nudged Sam aside and set his hands over Dean's face.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're-?" Dean started to ask before his face started to feel warm beneath the older boy's hands.

Sam wanted to say something, but all words left his mouth at the sight of the white glow that was being emitted from the stranger's hands.

Dean lasted a bit longer before he wrenched himself away from the hands and gave the stranger a hard push, knocking him down onto the ground. "Who are you? What the hell did you just do to me?"

"Dean…" Sam said softly to try and calm his brother down.

"My name is Castiel. I healed you." Castiel replied from his spot on the ground.

"Well, you're a freak. Don't ever touch me again. Don't touch Sammy, either." Dean spat back before stomping off into the house.

Sam gave an apologetic look to the stranger on the ground. "I'm sorry about him. He had a bad day. You'd better head home, though, I'm sure your parents are looking for you."

Castiel blinked at the advice and just stared at the pair as they walked inside. He wasn't used to making direct contact with humans, but he didn't mind that Dean had pushed him and been violent towards him. It wouldn't stop him from loving his human and the rest of the little human family in that house.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sam, honey, what do you keep looking at?" Mary asked as they ate.

Sam looked back at his mother from looking at the weird boy that was still outside on their lawn, just sitting there and staring at the house. "Huh? Oh, it's, uh, nothing."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure. John, can you see what's out there?" Mary asked.

John nodded and moved to look out the window Sam had been looking out. "What the hell…?"

"John, what's out there?" Mary asked with a small frown.  
"A kid. He looks about seventeen, eighteen tops."

"What's he doing out there? Can you see?"

"He's just sitting there, staring at the house, Mary. Should I go ask what his problem is?"

"If he's still there after dinner, yes."

"Why's he still out there? I told him to fuck off…" Dean mumbled as his father sat back down.

"What was that, young man?" John asked with a frown at his son.

"Uh, nothing, Dad." Dean replied quickly.

"Yeah, I'm sure." John replied with a small sigh. "Don't let me hear you talking like that again."

Dean said nothing and just went back to eating his dinner, wondering what the kid was doing outside still and what his problem was.

Castiel just sat outside and watched over the house, only getting distracted when he saw a bumblebee buzzing around nearby. He let the little insect land on his finger just long enough for him to get a good look at its stripes before it buzzed off once again, clearly very busy with something. When he looked back up, the Winchester family were all walking out of the house and over to him.

"Honey, are you lost? Can we help you with something?" Mary asked as she walked up to the rather docile looking boy sitting on the ground, rather like a child, with his legs stretched out in front of him.

"No, I know where I am, Mary Winchester." Castiel replied, looking up at the woman.

"What are you doing here? Do you need us to call you a ride home?" John spoke up, taking his place by his wife's side, gently resting a hand on the small of her back.

"I am where I am meant to be. Thank you for your offerings of help, but I will be fine." Castiel said with a shake of his head.

John blinked at the reply, looking at his wife to see if she had any idea what to do.

"I told you to get out of here. Why are you still here?" Dean spoke up, keeping just a bit in front of Sam.

"I cannot leave my post. I must stay within eyesight of you so I can watch over you." Castiel replied, finally getting up from the ground and walking over to Dean, who stepped even further in front of Sam, pushing the smaller boy behind him.

"Why do you want to watch over me? Who sent you?"

"I have to watch over you. I was ordered to by Michael, who was passing down a message from the Lord."

"The Lord?"

"Well, technically, the Lord told the Metatron, who told Michael, who then told me. I was sent here to be your guardian. You are growing more and more reckless as you age, so I took a vessel to better serve my purpose."

"My guardian? I have parents, they're guardian enough."

"Not a parental guardian, Dean. I need to keep you safe and alive so you can continue down the Lord's path for you."

"You're nuts, buddy."

Castiel cocked his head at Dean as the boy gave him a hard stare.

"Your name is Dean Johnathan Winchester. You were born on January 24, 1979, a Wednesday. You were born at nine-ten in the morning, and were eight pounds, five ounces at the time of birth. You were baptized three weeks later on the eleventh of February." Castiel recalled, staring at the boy.

Dean was a bit taken aback by the effortless way the boy rattled off it all. "Well, maybe you looked at a birth certificate or church records or something? I don't believe you, dude."

"When you were four years old, you had an imaginary friend named Cassie, who had no known gender or appearance beyond being a floating orb of white light. You let go of this imaginary friend completely when a fifth grader told you that imaginary friends were for babies. You cried about it that night because you didn't want Cassie's feelings to be hurt. You have a birthmark shaped uncannily like a bugle on your left butto-"

"Okay, shut up! Shut up, already!" Dean snapped, moving forward and reaching up to grab the boy by the sweater and pull him down so he could slap a hand over his mouth and silence him.

"Dean, let go of him, honey." Mary said, moving to her son to guide him away from the older boy.

"How do you know all of that about him? I mean, you're dead on, but how?" John asked in awe.

"I was watching him for it all. When he was a babe, I came as a gentle force, a gust of wind, something of the like, to keep him from crawling down the stairs or doing anything that might get him hurt. When he was four until he was about eight, I came to him as Cassie, the figment of his imagination. Then, I went back to being a gentle force again, but it stopped working recently. So, I took a vessel to better watch and protect him." Castiel explained, looking over at John.

"Who are you? What are you?" Mary asked softly, letting Sam cling to her legs.

"My name is Castiel. I'm an angel of the Lord." Castiel replied to her.

Dean just scoffed at that, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, I bet. Hey, Angel, where's your wings? Everyone knows angels have wings and halos. You just look like some gangly freak to me."

Castiel looked back at Dean with a small frown. "My wings could not manifest with this form. Human bodies do not have wings, thus you cannot see mine right now."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?" Dean challenged.

Castiel said nothing, letting his wings that he knew would be invisible to the humans stretch out behind him, the nearby streetlamp flickering a few times before his shadow revealed the massive, feathered limbs.

Mary blinked in awe at the sight. "Castiel, come inside." She said to the angel after a moment.

Castiel nodded and walked with the family back into the house, letting Mary start to treat him as a guest. When she offered him a cup of hot tea, he accepted.

"Why do you have to watch over me? I'm not an idiot, I can take care of myself." Dean asked with a huff as he pushed past the angel to sit down on the couch and turn on the TV.

"I have told you already, I must watch over you and keep you safe so that you can continue down your path." Castiel replied to Dean.

"Well, I don't need you, and I never asked for you. Go back to Heaven or wherever." Dean replied with a frown.

"I cannot leave you unless I am ordered away or you pass away, whichever comes first."

"Dean, don't be mean to the angel." Mary scolded her son from the kitchen.

"Whatever." Dean grumbled from his seat in the living room.

Castiel stayed standing in the entryway to the living room, not used to being acknowledged when he was there. Sam was staring up at him curiously, examining him.

"You're real big." Sam said after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, that is accurate." Castiel replied to the little boy. "You are very small."

"Yeah. Mom says I'm growing quick, though! I want to be bigger than Dean when I'm an adult." Sam nodded, smiling at the thought.

"You'll never be bigger than me, Sammy. I'm the big brother, which means I'm always going to be bigger than you. It's just a fact." Dean said to his brother with a smirk.

"I don't know if that's accurate at all." Castiel murmured, trying to decipher the twelve-year-old's logic.

"Dean's a big liar, don't listen to him. He's just a big poop butt." Sam said to Castiel, sticking his tongue out at his brother.

"H-He's a… poop butt…" Castiel repeated incredulously.

"I am not! You're the poop butt, Sammy!" Dean shot back.

"No, you are!" Sam insisted, taking Castiel by the hand and leading him into the living room.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!'

"Uh-huh!"

"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, your sons are quarreling." Castiel said to John and Mary as Mary handed him a warm cup of tea.

"They do that. Boys, cut it out. Neither of you are poop butts, alright?" Mary hummed.

"Dean, don't you have a book report to be working on?" John asked as he sat down on the couch.

"It's not due till Friday, Dad." Dean protested.

"The sooner you get it done, the more time you'll have to relax and not worry about it." John said to the boy.

"Fine." Dean huffed, getting up from his seat to go up to his room and work on his homework.

Castiel watched Dean leave the room and decided it would be best to continuously keep an eye on him, and moved to follow close behind him. He only got halfway up the stairs when Dean paused and turned around to face him.

"Personal space, Cas. I don't need you following me around like a shadow, either. I can do my homework by myself."

"I need to keep watch over you and make sure you do not get injured or killed." Castiel replied.

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna get hurt or killed by a stupid book report. Stay down there with Mom and Dad and Sammy." Dean huffed.

"My orders were to-" Castiel started.

"I don't care! I know what your orders were! I'm fine, just buzz off!" Dean snapped, giving the angel's shoulders a harsh shove.

Castiel was caught off guard by the push and in an instant found himself on his back on the hard floor at the bottom of the stairs, the mug of tea in his hand shattered with its contents spilled everywhere.

"Dean Johnathan Winchester!" Mary shouted when they all registered what had happened just outside the living room.

Castiel frowned as he picked himself up from the ground, climbing the stairs again, though leaving one between him and Dean as he stared the boy down. "I don't know if you fully understand your situation. I am and Angel of the Lord, a Heavenly Soldier. You are one human child, one very small little boy. I am highly powerful and will be by your side all your life, whether you like it or not. I am not your lapdog or your punching bag. You will give me the respect I am due."

Dean was taken aback by the sudden burst of confidence from the Angel. "I thought Angels were supposed to sing and play harps and stuff and tell people good news." He said softly, shrinking away from Castiel a bit.

"You would do well to actually read the Holy Bible, Dean, not just the Nativity story." Castiel replied, reaching over to tilt Dean's head up to look up at him.

Dean flinched at the touch at first, but seemed to relax after a second. Castiel's tone had been harsh, but his touch was gentle and warm. It was the kind of touch his mother always used when she was rubbing his back or petting his hair. There was just a tinge of impatience in Castiel's eyes, but it seemed to be melting away, leaving his blue eyes flooded with warmth and love once again as they just stood and stared at each other. Dean momentarily wished Cas had taken a female vessel, preferably a cute one.

"Yeah, I'll put it on the to-do list." Dean finally replied, turning his head away. "I'm sorry I pushed you."

"I forgive you, Dean. Good luck on your tasks." Castiel replied, watching the boy turn and climb up the stairs to go to disappear into his bedroom.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, you're really an angel? For real?" Sam asked while Mary helped clean out the little cuts that had formed on Castiel's hands from the shattered mug.

"Yes." Castiel nodded.

"Wow…" Sam sighed, thinking the idea over. "Were you the one that wrestled Jacob in that one Bible story?"

Castiel blinked at the question before shaking his head. "No, that was someone else. I'm not sure who it was, though."

Sam nodded in understanding, trying to remember all the Bible stories he could that featured angels. "Were you the one who told Mary that she was gonna have a baby?"

"No, that was Gabriel." Castiel said with a shake of his head.

"Who's Gabriel? Did you get to tell the Wise Men about Baby Jesus? Were you one of the angels who were singing when he was born? What do angel songs sound like?" Sam asked eagerly.  
"Sammy, don't smother him." Mary laughed as she stuck a bit of gauze over the cuts and wrapped Castiel's hand in medical tape.

"It's quite alright. It's natural to be curious." Castiel replied to her before turning his attention back to Sam, who was staring up at him with big, hazel eyes. "Gabriel is an archangel, one of my brothers. He typically acts as a messenger for The Lord. I was not one of the few who told the Magi, but I was singing. We were all singing. The sound of an angelic song is hard to describe."

"Do you sing hymns like in church?" Sam asked, moving to sit in Castiel's lap as if he was the Santa Claus at the local mall.

"Somewhat, but they're not quite like what you sing. Angels speak in a language that's not typically known to humans. Your scholars have named it Enochian." Castiel replied as he kept Sam close, taking a sheet of paper and a pencil from nearby and starting to write in the foreign language for the boy to see. "It looks better in the traditional calligraphy, but you understand the structure."

"Cool. What does your name look like?" Sam asked curiously, watching as Castiel wrote out his name from right to left on the paper. "What about my name? Or, can you write a sentence in it?"

Castiel kept Sam close and wrote out Sam's full name for him to see before writing a sentence on the paper and reciting it in the foreign language for the boy.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked in awe. "Does it mean, 'God is Good' or something?"

"It means, 'Sam Winchester needs to take a bath tonight.'" Castiel replied honestly, making Mary laugh happily and Sam look up at him incredulously before giving a look of silent acceptance. If an angel told him he needed to bathe, then it had to be true.

Castiel helped to carry Sam up the stairs to the bathroom where Mary could bathe the boy. He set Sam down in the bathroom, leaving the room to check in on Dean as the older brother worked in his room, silently talking to himself as he worked through his homework. His charge and family were all perfectly safe, and he was satisfied.

After bathing Sam, Mary got Castiel set up in the house's guest room, despite him telling her that he'd never needed to sleep before, and was sure he wouldn't develop the need any time soon.

"Well, you should at least have a quiet place to relax, especially if you're going to be watching over Dean. He can be… a lot." She insisted.

Castiel just nodded and accepted the hospitality. He silently spent the rest of the night watching the family wind down and go through their nightly rituals. Mary, Sam, and Dean all said goodnight to him before going to bed for the night. John said nothing, but just nodded and disappeared into the master bedroom. After a few minutes spent softly praying, the lights in the house went off and everything went quiet.

The silence and peace lasted a few hours until he heard Dean stirring in his room from a nightmare.

Dean squeezed his eyes shut as he woke up, groaning and rubbing his eyes before turning over in his bed, only to see Castiel standing by his bedroom window, staring at him.

"Shit, Cas, how long have you been standing there?" he sighed after the initial shock passed.

"A few minutes." Castiel replied, crossing over to kneel by Dean's bed and continue watching him.

Dean scooted back in his bed when Castiel got closer to him, initially much too close for comfort. "Well, cut it out. That's creepy as hell."

"I didn't mean to frighten you. You were having a nightmare, I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine. Quit staring at me. Your eyes are really weird."

Castiel cocked his head at the comment, though let Dean put his hands over his face to hide his eyes. "I don't understand how this will help you sleep, Dean."

"Just trust me, okay?" Dean replied with a small smile. He knew it wasn't very fair to the angel to be picking on him. Especially since Castiel seemed to have no clue how humans worked.

"Very well." Castiel complied, letting Dean keep his hands over his eyes before the boy moved his hands away and started to pinch his cheeks and pull at them a bit. "Dean, that doesn't feel good."

"It'll help me sleep." Dean asserted, wondering if Castiel's vessel was ticklish at all, or if having an angel inside of it diminished that. He decided to test it out, moving his hands to the back of Castiel's neck and started to gently tickle it.

Castiel gasped at the feeling and pushed his shoulders up, as if trying to hide the back of his neck away. "Dean, I don't like that."

"Come here for a second. Just a little bit." Dean said, patting the empty side of his bed and watching as the angel obeyed.

"What now?" Castiel asked once he'd laid down in the bed next to Dean.

"Now…" Dean replied softly before pushing his hands up the angel's sweater and starting to tickle his belly.

Castiel gasped again before involuntarily beginning to laugh as he tried to push Dean's hands away. One of his flapping wings accidentally knocked over a cup of pencils on the boy's desk while the energy he emitted made the lights in the room and the hallway all turn on, grow brighter and brighter, until the bulbs all finally burst.

The rest of the family woke up to that. In a few seconds, Mary came rushing into the room.

"What's going on in here?" She asked, seeing the silhouettes of Dean and Castiel on the bed.

"Cas was just helping me go back to sleep." Dean replied to her.

"Uh-huh. What were you doing to make the lightbulbs explode and how will that help you sleep?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I didn't think the lights would explode. I just wanted to see if Cas was ticklish, and he totally is. I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I didn't know. Thanks, Cas." Dean explained.

"You're welcome." Castiel replied to Dean, resting a hand on Dean's forehead and making him fall back asleep in an instant. "I'm sorry about the lights. I didn't mean to."

"It's not your fault, Castiel. I'll run a vacuum over everything in the morning and get new lightbulbs in. Let's make sure you're outside, though, next time Dean tries to tickle you." Mary replied with a small sigh.

Castiel nodded in agreement and apologized to Sam and John for waking them up as well before going back to the guest room to wait for morning.

"Mary, are we sure we want to keep that thing in the house? He's an atomic bomb, someone's going to get hurt, whether he means to do it or not." John said to his wife as they went back to bed.

"John, he's an angel. If he wants to live in our home with us to watch over Dean, then we'll let him. I don't want to be on Heaven's bad list." Mary replied with a small sigh.

"He's a huge ball of energy wearing a meat suit, Mar. One of these days he's gonna burst and we'll all be in the splash zone."

Mary stayed quiet at that as she climbed into the bed with her husband and kept close to him. "That body he's using is still a human being, though. I can't bring myself to let him stay lingering around outside, especially when it's supposed to snow this weekend. Winters are brutal and his body wouldn't be able to take it. He needs food and warmth. Besides, no one should ever be alone when Christmas comes around."

Castiel listened in from the bed in the guest room and kept quiet. He hated the idea of being a burden on the family, but he needed to stay in close vicinity to Dean to watch over him like he was told to. Before long, the house went quiet and still and dark as the family all fell asleep.

Months of mundane activity passed by, months that Castiel spent contently watching from the sidelines, waiting patiently for something to happen that might warrant his interference.

The Winchesters treated him as if he was a close family friend or an honorary son. Mary let him help her cook dinners, though she'd gotten a bit hesitant about having him near the stove ever since he'd put his bare arm into a pot of boiling water to test the tenderness of the pasta they'd been cooking. He hadn't been hurt at all, but Mary yelped loud enough when she spotted him to make the rest of the family think that she had been.

When Christmas Eve came around, Mary made sure that he matched Sam and Dean and dressed the three of them in identical black trousers, white button down shirts, and red sweaters.

"Mom, do we have to go to church like this? I look like a nerd." Dean complained.

"I like these outfits." Sam hummed as Mary worked on tidying his hair with a comb and a bit of gel.

"Of course you do, Sammy. Nerds like nerdy outfits." Dean replied with a smirk.

"Dean, don't call Sam a nerd on Christmas Eve. And, yes, we do have to go to church like this. You three are adorable." Mary replied as she finished with Sam's hair. "There, that's one tamed beast. Come here, Castiel, your turn."

Castiel looked over at her and nodded, moving to sit in in the dining room chair in front of her so she could attempt to tidy his hair.

"I like Christmas Eve services. Do you think the pastor will know you're an angel, Castiel? Pastors know everything, I think." Sam asked as he watched his mother part and comb through the angel's dark hair.

"Some clergy are more intuitive than others. I don't know for sure if your pastor will be able to tell or not." Castiel replied honestly.

"Well, he doesn't really fit in that well. The pastor will either figure it out or just think he's a weirdo. Either way, he'll be right." Dean sighed.

Castiel said nothing. He figured that by human standards, Dean was right. By human standards, he was rather odd.

"There, nice and handsome." Mary said as she finished tidying Castiel's hair for him.

"Can I see?" Dean asked, moving over to stand by her side and look at his guardian angel.

Dean looked down at Castiel, who stared back up at him, his bright blue eyes focused and unblinking. Dean wondered why Castiel couldn't have chosen a cute girl as a vessel instead. A cute girl with the same brunette hair and Tiffany blue eyes would have been perfect. Even as a man, though, Dean figured Castiel wasn't too ugly.

"Yeah, yeah he looks good." Dean finally said with a nod.

"Good, I'll get the Impala warming up." John said from the front entranceway as he pulled on his leather jacket.

"We'll meet you in there in just a bit." Mary replied with a smile to her husband, who returned the favor before walking out of the house.

Castiel followed the family as they all pulled on their jackets, watching the trio pile into the car.

"I don't think Cas is gonna fit, Dad." Dean said as he got into the back with Sam.

"He can if one of you scoots to the middle." John replied easily.

"I don't want to be a burden. I can fly to the church and meet you there." Castiel said.

"Will you get cold? The wind's brutal tonight." Mary asked with a frown.

"It will take me less than a minute to get there. I will be fine." Castiel replied, moving to shut the car door on Sam's side of the Impala.

"Alright. We'll see you there, then. You know where to go, right?" John asked.

"I know my path, John Winchester."

"Right, okay."

Castiel stepped back and pushed his hands into the pockets of his tan trench coat, watching the black car back down the driveway.

Sam watched Castiel and the house as they backed away, wanting to see if he could watch the angel take off into the air. He turned in his seat as they drove away and watched Castiel's form grow smaller and smaller. He blinked once, and then Castiel had vanished.

"He's gone…" Sam gasped softly as he watched out the rearview window in awe.

"No shit, Sherlock." Dean scoffed.

"Dean, language." Mary scolded.

"Sorry, mom." Dean replied softly as his little brother settled into his seat in the car.

Sam gasped again when they pulled into the church parking lot and saw Castiel standing by the front entrance, watching them as they parked.

"Cas!" He said with a happy smile, hopping out of the car as soon as the engine turned off. He ran towards the angel eagerly, not noticing the patch of ice on the pavement. He heard the wind blow around him and then a pair of hands holding him under his arms and keeping him upright.

"You need to watch where you walk, Sam. You could have easily broken a bone or two, had you fallen." Castiel said, setting the boy down on a safe part of asphalt.

Sam smiled sheepishly up at the angel and took hold of his hand, practically dragging him into the building.

Castiel looked back at Dean almost inquisitively, as if he was wondering if being dragged around by little children was normal in their family. Dean just smiled a bit at the angel and gave him a shrug in reply.

"Hello, Samuel." The old man at the front door said to the boy with a small smile.

"I told you to call me Sam, Mr. Hansen." Sam replied.

"I'll try to remember, but I can't make you any promises." Mr. Hansen laughed. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"Yeah! This is Castiel. He's going to be staying with us for a while." Sam replied, letting go of Castiel's hand to go over to the coat rack and hang his jacket up.

"Well, Castiel, it's good to meet you." Mr. Hansen said, sticking a hand out to him.

Castiel studied the man's face for a moment, then his hand, then his face again. He held eye contact with the man as he took hold of his hand in both of his hands and stepped a bit closer to him. "I am very humbled to meet you, too, Mr. Hansen. You are very good to your fellow man."

"Okay, let's get your coat off before you overheat." Dean cut in, pushing Castiel away from the confused old man. "Dude, can you be any weirder?"

"I don't know what you mean." Castiel replied, taking off his trench coat with Dean.

"Humans don't greet each other like that. You're trying to blend in, remember?" Dean replied with a small sigh.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Pretty much everything. Only shake hands with your right hand. Both hands is weird unless you're someone's grandpa or really old or something. Just cut it off at 'hello' or 'nice to meet you.'"

"I will try to remember that."

"Good."

Dean just sighed as he hung up his coat with his family's, watching the first people in the church mill around outside the sanctuary or slowly wander in to find their seats. His mother and father had already started talking to an older couple who claimed to know him, though he barely knew their names. The Pastor was also walking around amongst the people to welcome them in and make small talk with them. It didn't take long for him to make his way over to their family.

"Ah, the Winchester troupe! John, Mary, Sam, and Dean. I don't think I know you, though." The Pastor greeted them all, turning his attention to Castiel.

Castiel made eye contact with the pastor and noticed something cross the graying man's face that seemed both like disbelief and wonder.

"This is Castiel, one of Dean's friends." Mary piped up after the moment of awkward silence.

"Castiel. That's a lovely name, I don't come across that one too often." The Pastor hummed, sticking his hand out to Castiel.

This time, Castiel did as Dean had advised. He took hold of the Pastor's hand with his right hand and shook it. He withdrew his hand when he heard Dean cough a bit beside him. "I'm happy to meet you, sir. Thank you, my father gave it to me as a wonderful gift upon my creation."

Castiel heard Dean exhale rather deeply beside him.

"I see." The Pastor said after a moment of silence. "Well, I'd love to chat with you again, perhaps tomorrow. Will you be at the Christmas service tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, we will." Mary replied to him with a nod and a pleasant smile.

"Wonderful. It was good to meet you, Castiel, on this lovely Thursday night." The Pastor replied with a pleasant smile, letting the family go to find seats in the sanctuary, taking candles and programs from the ushers at the doors.

"I told you not to be weird." Dean groaned to Castiel once they were seated, the angel sandwiched between the brothers.

"What else was I supposed to say, Dean? What I said was the truth." Castiel replied with a small frown.

"Maybe, but no one says stuff like that. You could've said almost anything else about the origins of your name and it would have worked better than that. Are you even trying to blend in?"

"Dean, you can't expect me to merge seamlessly into human society if you never tell me anything about how your society works."

"You're an angel, shouldn't you already know everything about us?"

"I am not omniscient, Dean. I have watched your kind for eons, but it has always been from the outside looking in. Have patience, please."

"Boys, don't bicker on Christmas Eve." Mary sighed to the pair.

"I'm sorry, Mary. I made Dean upset. Please, place your blame on me." Castiel replied to her easily.

Mary blinked at the immediate reply from the angel and reached around Sam to gently rub Castiel's shoulder and smile gently at him. "It's not your fault you don't know much about humans. We'll just have to make sure we teach you well."

"Thank you. You're all very kind." Castiel replied with a small smile to her, freezing as he felt Sam wrap his arms around him and hug him tightly.

"You're our family angel. We love you, Cas." He replied with a wide grin up at the other man.

Castiel blinked at the reply before reaching down to hold Sam's smaller face in his hands. "I love you all, too. You're all such lovely works of art."

Sam grinned and snuggled into the angel happily as Castiel gently, albeit awkwardly, started to pat his back.

"Hey, did the Pastor kinda seem weird to you?" Dean piped up after a bit. "I feel like he's onto you."

"He definitely knows, yes." Castiel agreed.

"How do you know he knows?" Dean asked confusedly.

"He said that it's 'a lovely Thursday night.'"

"Yeah, and?"

"And, I'm the Angel of Thursday. I answer the prayers of those born on a Thursday or praying on a Thursday."

Dean blinked at the reply and just settled into his seat, looking over the program for the service curiously. More and more people came until all the pews had been filled up with people and the service began.

Every so often, Dean looked over at Castiel's face during the service. The guy looked very involved in the scripture readings, as if he needed to make sure he remembered every word for a test he'd have later. Even when a group of elementary school kids came on in costumes and reenacted the Nativity, the guy never looked away.

The service wrapped up with the congregation standing up, lighting their candles while the lights went off in the sanctuary and starting to sing Silent Night. Dean glanced over at Castiel again and swallowed when he met the other's piercing blue eyes. There was something about the way the flickering candle illuminated his face that made him look almost terrifying. However, once the hymn was finished and everyone blew out their candles, the angel went back to looking as awkward and dumb as always.


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel flew back to the Winchesters' home while the family drove. He waited patiently for them in the driveway, staring up at the night sky. It wouldn't be his first Christmas away from Heaven, but each year felt as painful as the first. He could already hear the singing in his head as the other angels in Heaven sang their praises, though they sang their praises every day. He watched the stars and listened to his siblings' song until he started to sing along while he waited alone in the driveway. The streetlamps and all the Christmas lights on all the houses within a mile radius of him all simultaneously burst.

"What the hell?" John asked as they pulled onto their street, seeing a man's figure in the middle of a beam of bright light on their driveway. "Is that Castiel? What's he doing?"

As they drove closer, they started to hear the air around them humming at one beautiful note.

The note ended as they pulled into the driveway, and the bright beam of light disappeared.

"Castiel? What are you doing?" John asked confusedly as they all got out of the Impala.

"I was singing." Castiel replied honestly.

"That was what happens when you sing? I mean, really sing?" He asked in awe.

"Not quite. The real effect is much more… large. That was what happens when I sing while my voice and grace is confined to a human body."

"You looked like a police searchlight, but brighter. Like you were trying to Batsignal someone."

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to frighten you." Castiel replied, looking back up to the night sky. John followed his gaze, along with Sam, who took the angel's hand tightly.

"Are the other angels singing?" Sam asked curiously.

"Yes. They all are. They sing every day, but they sing the most around Christmas and Easter." Castiel replied.

"Do you miss your home?" Sam asked, quieter.

"Of course I do." Castiel replied honestly. "Come, let's go inside. You and Dean are small and weak and will fall ill."

Sam nodded and smiled as he walked with the angel back into the house, his brother bristling from being called 'small and weak'.

Dean followed the pair into the house, taking one last glance up at the night sky. Part of him felt rather sorry for Cas. To be away from all his brothers and sisters and home for years on Christmas would suck.

"Alright, boys. All three of you on the couch before the Christmas Eve present. I want to get a good picture." Mary hummed.

Dean groaned but did as he was told, sitting down on one end of the couch, Sam sitting down on the other.

"You want me in the picture, too?" Castiel asked.

"You're part of this family, aren't you?" Mary replied with a smile to the angel, pinching his cheek. "Go sit with them, Castiel."

Castiel nodded and moved to sit down on the couch between Sam and Dean.

"Alright, boys. Now, say 'cheese.'" John said with a small smile as he sidled over to his wife.

"Cheese!" Dean said.

"Cheese!" Sam said, too.

"Why would I say that?" Castiel asked in time with the brothers, his eyebrows knit and head cocked to one side as the camera flashed and it's shutter clicked.

John looked at the resulting photo on the screen with Mary and laughed.

"I think it's a keeper." Mary said with a smile.

"Definitely. It captures their personalities almost to a T." John agreed, kissing his wife's head. "You're a true artist, Mare."

"Okay, boys. Go get on your pajamas and come back down for the Christmas Eve present." Mary said to the trio.

Castiel followed Sam and Dean up to the bedrooms, finding a red pair of pajamas he didn't recognize on his bed. Mary had said to change into their pajamas, though, so he obediently stripped down and pulled on the red and green plaid fleece pants and the red long-sleeved shirt. Once he was changed, he padded barefoot back down to the living room, the first of the three of them to return.

"You look good in red, Castiel." Mary chirped. "Do you mind if I take your picture, sweetheart?"

"Will it hurt?" Castiel asked, eyeing the camera warily.

"No, honey, it'll be like last time. Remember when John told you boys to say 'cheese?'" She replied.

"And then there was a flash of light and the sound of a click?" Castiel finished.

"Exactly. It'll be exactly like that."

"Oh. Then, I have no problem with it."

"Great. We just don't know how long you'll be around, so I want to get pictures from the time our family had an angel living with us."

Castiel sat down on the couch where Mary told him to and sat perfectly still.

"That's great, honey. Now, can you smile for me?" She asked. "Maybe relax a bit, too? You're really tense."

Castiel tried his best to relax his muscles and lean back on the couch, obediently stretching his mouth into a smile for her. The smile was crooked and awkward, but Mary snapped the picture anyways.

"Perfect." She hummed, kissing his forehead.

"May I see?" Castiel asked curiously.

Mary nodded and sat down on the couch next to him, showing him the preview image on the screen on the back of the camera.

"That's amazing." Castiel murmured, marveling at the device and the image of his human vessel captured like a portrait on the back of it.

"I think tomorrow I'll have film developed and then put all the pictures in a photo album." Mary hummed as she took the camera back from him.

"When did humans stop painting images of their likeness on canvas?" Castiel asked curiously.

"Well, some still do, but it's a lot of money. The camera is the layman's paintbrush." She replied as Sam and Dean ran down into the living room.

Sam ran to sit on one side of the couch while Dean sat up on the other once again, leaving Castiel sandwiched between the two of them. John sidled over to Mary and helped hand out three wrapped packages, one for Sam, one for Dean, and one for Castiel.

"You are too generous." Castiel said in shock as he was handed a gift, moving to hand it back.

"It's for you, kiddo. Don't worry about it too much." John said, pushing the gift back to Castiel, who looked at it in awe.

"You have to open it, Cas." Dean sighed, reaching over to tear a bit of the wrapping paper for the confused angel.

Castiel blinked when the small corner of paper was torn away to reveal some soft red fabric. He peered into the package curiously before following Sam and Dean's lead and tearing away the paper covering the gift.

He pulled out a knit red sweater with a big green 'C' knit onto the front. He felt his chest swell at the gift and smiled softly as he felt the soft warmth of the sweater. "It's wonderful. I love it."

Sam and Dean were considerably less enthusiastic about their sweaters with their first initials on it. They thanked their parents politely, but neither of them were verging on tears quite like Castiel.

"I swear, Mare, this is gonna be our one-way ticket to Heaven after we day. Castiel looks like we gave him a puppy." John chuckled as the three boys went up to bed for the night.

Mary laughed a bit and nodded. "I just hope Dean doesn't become a bad influence on him. Hopefully it'll be that Cas is a good influence on Dean."

John nodded and stayed up a bit longer with Mary before ultimately deciding to go to bed, since they'd have to be awake early in the morning for the Christmas morning service at church.

Castiel woke up in the morning to the sound of John and Mary chatting down in the kitchen. The angels were singing once again, just like they'd been singing as he'd fallen asleep. He looked at the sweater he'd been cuddling like a blanket and smiled softly. The token from the family filled him with enough joy that made him want to sing again, though he withheld for the sake of the family's lights.

Instead, he got dressed for the day, pulling on a pair of black dress pants, a button-down shirt, and then his new sweater. With that, he pulled on his socks and went down to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Castiel. You look really good in your sweater." Mary hummed with a happy smile at him.

"It's wonderful. I like it very, very much. Thank you." Castiel replied, moving to hug both John and Mary and kiss their cheeks.

"Oh, well, you're welcome." Mary chuckled, taken aback by the affection. "Do you know if Sam and Dean are awake? Breakfast will be done in a few minutes."

"No, but I can check for you." Castiel replied.

"Could you, please?" John asked.

Castiel nodded and vanished from the room with a small breeze. He reappeared beside Dean's bed, looking down at his sleeping human. Dean looked so peaceful when he slept. Castiel leaned in closer.

Dean almost had a heart attack when he woke up to see Castiel's face only a few inches from his own. "Crap, Cas! Personal space, please?"

Castiel quietly backed away from Dean at the request.

"I'm sorry. Your parents told me to wake you because breakfast will be finished soon." He said.

"Yeah, okay. I'm awake, so get out of here." Dean sighed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Castiel nodded and left the room to go to Sam's room down the hall, and gently shake the sleeping boy awake.

"Good morning, Cas." Sam said tiredly, rubbing his eyes as he woke up.

"Good morning, Sam. It's almost time for breakfast." Castiel replied.

Sam nodded and slowly ambled out of his bedroom to go down to the kitchen for Christmas breakfast. He took hold of Castiel's hand, walking along in front of him.

"Good morning, Sammy. You sleep well?" Mary asked with a small laugh at the sight of her son's shaggy bedhead. Sam nodded to her.

"Well, go sit down at the table, kiddo. It's time to eat." John chuckled, watching Dean, Sam, and Cas all sit down at the kitchen table to eat.

"Hey, Castiel. You mind helping me shovel out the driveway while they all get dressed?" John asked at the end of the meal.

"I don't mind." Castiel replied.

"Great." John said.

Castiel pulled on his trench coat and shoes and went out with John to the driveway, letting the man hand him a shovel and show him how to clear the fresh layer of snow from the driveway. The entire process seemed tedious and unnecessary.

Deciding he knew a better way, Castiel held out a hand, pushing a stream of wind down the center of the driveway, that pushed the snow on either side off and into the yard.

"Well, I suppose that works too, Moses." John said after a beat of silence, chuckling and ruffling Castiel's messy hair.

"That isn't my name." Castiel replied. John just laughed and went back into the house with the angel.

"Hey, let's have Castiel take care of all the shoveling from now on." John said to Mary.

"Honey, we can't take advantage of him like that." Mary replied.

"Oh come on, it takes him one second to split it like the Red Sea."

"Well, we'll talk about it later."

When the family went off to Church in the Impala, Castiel flew there and arrived before them once again. He waited and walked into the building with the family once again, hanging up his coat along with them.

"Hello, there, Winchesters!" The Pastor greeted them with a wide smile. "Castiel, do you have a bit of time to talk? It won't take more than a couple minutes, I promise."

Castiel looked back at the family before nodding to the Pastor and following him back to the man's office in the church.

"What seems to be the matter, sir?" Castiel asked as he sat down facing the desk, the Pastor on the other side.

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to check in." The Pastor replied, letting his eyes glow bright white. "Merry Christmas, baby brother."

"Gabriel?" Castiel asked in awe.

"In the flesh. Well, this flesh." Gabriel replied with a wide grin. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna embarrass you in front of your little human family. Not today, at least."

"Why are you here, then?" Castiel asked, letting Gabriel get up and hug him tightly.

"Like I said, I'm just checking in. It'll have been thirteen years next month since you left home to guard your charge. Michael sent me to check in on you and make sure everything's still going smoothly."

"Dean is becoming difficult."

"He's a human on the verge of puberty. What did you expect?"

Castiel stayed silent, just hanging onto his older brother.

"It's not too big of a job for you, is it? Technically, you're still just a fledgling. If it is, I can tell Michael…" Gabriel asked as he held his younger brother tightly.

"I can handle this job, Gabriel. I will handle it." Castiel replied.

"That's the spirit." Gabriel said, patting his cheek as he finally pulled away from the embrace.

"Do you know how long I will need to stay here?" Castiel asked after a moment of silence. "It's not that I dislike humans or the Winchesters, it's just…."

"It's not home." Gabriel finished. "I get it, Cassie. I don't know, honestly. I think the only people who know are Father, Metatron, and Michael. Michael's iffy, though. Some guardian angels only stay for the volatile years of their human's youth. Some stay all throughout their human's life. It just depends on that human's path."

"And only Father knows their paths." Castiel sighed.

"Exactly." Gabriel nodded. "Even if you must stay here all of Dean's life, humans generally live short lives. You have maybe seven or eight decades left, on average. Point is, hang in there, Cassie."

"It hurts being away from home for so long, Gabriel."

"That's the nature of Heaven. It's Paradise, no one ever wants to leave it. Those who have to are rarely happy about it."

Castiel nodded and let Gabriel kiss his forehead, hugging his brother one last time before the two of them walked out of the office so he could join back up with the Winchester's again in the sanctuary, where they'd saved a seat for him.

"What'd the Pastor want to talk about? Is he onto you? Did he rat you out to the Feds?" Dean asked curiously as Castiel sat down with them once again.

"He was my brother. He wanted to see how things were going." Castiel replied honestly.

"The Pastor's your brother?" Dean asked confusedly.

"Not the Pastor, the angel using him as a vessel. The angel is my brother, Gabriel." Castiel replied.

Dean blinked at that. "How long's the Pastor been an angel?"

"Not long. Since yesterday, I think."

"So, are there lots more of you guys around here walking and talking like normal people while guarding someone else?"

"No, I don't see anyone else."

"Well, you don't exactly have elf eyes. You didn't see your own brother last night."

"Gabriel is a master of disguise. Most others are much easier to spot. I can see their true faces within their vessels."

Dean said nothing in reply, looking around the congregation of people as everyone filed in for the service. He knew he wouldn't be able to point out an angel just by looking at them, but it didn't hurt to try.


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't take long for Castiel to understand how difficult Dean's pubescent years would be. As his body changed, so did his demeanor. Dean became more and more rebellious, seemingly by the week. The boy was angry, and Castiel never really knew what he was angry at.

"Dean, have you finished that paper for your English class yet?" He asked one night.

"Blow me, Cas." Dean replied with a huff.

"Eat me, Dean." Castiel huffed back. He didn't honestly know what the sayings meant, but he knew it was a good reply.

Dean fell silent at that, and just left to go up to his bedroom after stealing a cookie from the cooling rack on the kitchen counter.

Castiel sighed and rubbed his temples, looking over as Sam meandered into the kitchen with his full backpack.

"Hi, Cas. Did Dean give you another headache?" Sam asked as he got his things set up at the kitchen table to do his homework.

"Yes, he did. He seems to be getting good at it." Castiel replied honestly.

"Yeah. Sometimes I think he's overcompensating, you know?" Sam replied. "Hey, can I have a cookie? Please?"

"Overcompensating?" Castiel repeated, setting a cookie on a napkin and bringing it over to Sam.

"Yeah. He's getting butch. He's trying to be real tough and macho. It seems like too much for one sixteen-year-old, you know?" Sam explained.

"He's always been rather rebellious. That's why I decided to take a physical form in the first place." Castiel thought aloud. "Humans are confusing. You have a period of about five or six years where your body shifts from that of a child to that of an adult. That period is thus filled with the human acting strangely and being rebellious. Then, once it's done, the human looks back at those years and cringes. It seems like a lot of trouble."

"That's puberty. At least, that's what mom and my health teacher said." Sam shrugged. "How do angels age?"

"We're born as fledglings. Then, time passes and we get bigger and stronger." Castiel replied easily. "In the end, some angels become stronger than others based on their place in the hierarchy."

"What's the hierarchy?" Sam asked curiously as he ate the cookie.

"The hierarchy of angels, or the nine orders or choirs of angels, is the celestial order of ranking. At the top is the Seraphim, then it's the Cherubim, the Thrones, the Dominions, the Virtues, the Powers, the Principalities, the Archangels, and the Angels."

"But that means you're at the bottom. That can't be right. You're super powerful, Cas." Sam frowned.

"It's the truth. Seraphim are the caretakers of the Lord's throne. Cherubim guard the way to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden and the way to the Lord's throne." Castiel explained.

"Cherubs are the ones that look like babies and toddlers, right?"

"No. Modern English has confused Cherubim with Putti. Cherubim have four faces and four wings that are covered in eyes. Putti are used in art to depict the omnipresence of God or non-religious passion. Putti don't really exist."

"So, they're just symbols, basically?"

"Yes."

"Are there any angels that look like babies?"

"No, no angels look like human children unless they chose to and manipulate their forms to do so."

"Okay, so what are the Thrones, then?"

"The Thrones are living symbols of God's justice and Authority. The Dominions regulate the duties of lower ranks of angels. They very, very rarely show themselves to humans. The Virtues send signs and miracles into this world. The Powers supervise everything to make sure that order is maintained in the cosmos. The Principalities guide nations, groups of people, and institutions like the Church. Archangels are chief messengers, and they give me my orders. Michael told me to watch over Dean Winchester as a guardian, and so I am. I'm an Angel. Angels are most concerned with the affairs of living things. We're often sent as messengers and personal guardians."

Sam listened and finished his cookie as Castiel spoke and explained the hierarchy of angels to him.

"So, you guys kinda have your own government or chain of command, then?"

"Yes, we do."

"That's cool. Can you help me with my homework, Cas?" Sam asked curiously.

"I can try." Castiel nodded, watching the boy pull out some supplies from his backpack and start walking him through the problems he had to do. Castiel didn't know the answers to most of the questions, but he was good at math. That was good enough for Sam, since he didn't totally understand algebra.

Dean came back down from his room, but only because it was dinnertime. He settled into his seat at the table with the family. "Cas, do you have to sit so close to me?" he grumbled.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dean." Castiel replied, helping himself to a dinner roll after they'd finished saying Grace, his elbow bumping against Dean's as he reached over.

"You're too close, just scoot over, you big idiot." Dean said.

"Where I sit is inconsequential, Dean. Eat your potatoes, your blood sugar level is very low and is making you irritable." Castiel replied easily.

"Christ, when did I sign up to have two moms?" Dean huffed.

"I could very well have to watch over you for your entire life, Dean. I've been here for fifteen years already. You can get used to it." Castiel said evenly.

"Boys, no bickering at the dinner table, please." Mary said to the pair as she ate.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Winchester." Castiel said, looking over at her.

"Sorry, Mom." Dean said, looking at his food.

"So, Sam, how was school?" John asked his youngest son.

Sam brightened up and happily started to tell the group all about his day at school. They'd started to read Of Mice and Men in English, he'd had a test in Art, they were still studying the Spanish-American War in History, and in Biology, they would be dissecting fish soon.

"They keep you kids busy in seventh grade." John chuckled. "What about you, Dean? Anything fun happen in school?"

"It's school, Dad. Nothing fun ever happens there." Dean replied.

"Was that Tucker kid being a di- a doofus again?" Sam asked curiously, censoring himself when he caught his mother's eye.

"Tucker's always a doofus." Dean shrugged. "I don't pay much attention to him. It's a waste of time. It's always the same shit, you know?"

"Dean, language." Mary scolded.

"Sorry, mom." Dean said again.

Castiel listened to the family talk amongst themselves, eating quietly, a task he'd gotten used to. Dean was an impulsive child, and puberty only seemed to be fueling the fires even further. Another impulsive teenager stoking the flames wouldn't be good at all.

"Who is this Tucker?" Castiel asked curiously.

"The biggest jerk in the world. One day, I'm gonna clock him in the nose." Dean replied.

"What did he ever do to you?" Castiel asked.

"He called Sammy a nerd once. I mean, it's true, but he doesn't get to say it." Dean explained.

"Hey!" Sam huffed.

"You want to hurt this boy because he said something rude about your brother once?" Castiel asked in awe.

"He'll do it again sometime. When he does, I'm gonna ruin his face." Dean said.

Castiel fell silent at that, wondering if he'd ever be able to keep up with his charge and his whims.

The next morning went just as it always did. The boys got dressed, ate breakfast, and all went off to school together. Castiel followed them to the school and stayed perched in a nearby tree to keep watch over his human, just in case something were to happen. Teenagers and middle schoolers alike flooded into the school building together, the brothers found their friends, and were quickly swept inside with the crowd for the day.

"So, Winchester, where's that one faggy kid you came with yesterday? I thought you were gonna kiss him in the hallways, but I couldn't find him around anywhere." A boy in a football jersey asked.

Dean gritted his teeth. Mary had gone into work early the previous day, so Castiel had been the one to escort the boys to school. The angel had spent multiple minutes making sure Dean was ready to go for the day.

Truth be told, Castiel got seen by a lot of people while they were out and about. The angel wasn't exactly invisible. When asked, they just told people that he was a family friend who was staying with them for a while.

"Don't say that shit about him, Tucker." Dean huffed back, keeping his attention focused on his locker.

"Why? You don't want people to know that you're sucking his cock after school?" Tucker laughed. "Maybe the football team'll get to him before you and you can find him in the locker room when we're done."

Dean frowned hard at that, trying to hold out a bit longer. He'd gotten grounded the last time he punched someone for making fun of Sam, it would be worse if he got in another fight.

"What, not gonna talk, Winchester? I bet you'd get off on that. Watching your little boyfriend getting facefucked like a whore."

Dean clenched his fist, spun around, and brought his fist up so it connected with Tucker's lower jaw, hard.

Tucker stumbled a bit and just smiled before punching Dean hard in the abdomen. At that point, a large crowd of students had started to form around them in the hallway.

"You done, Winchester?" Tucker asked with a small smile.

"Fuck you." Dean spat back before grabbing the other boy by the hair and slamming him back into the lockers, making his head hit them as hard as he could.

Tucker groaned and brought a knee up between Dean's legs, reaching into his pocket when Dean had doubled over in pain.

"Dean!" Castiel said, appearing just behind his human and grabbing him to drag him away from the scene as a teacher came to break up the fight. "Dean, stop."

"Dammit, Cas, I had him." Dean spat at the angel.

"Dean, he had a pocket knife in his pocket. You could have been seriously injured. You need to think more carefully about which battles you choose." Castiel replied with a frown to Dean.

"Whoa, what?" Dean asked, turning around to look at Cas, only to find that he'd already disappeared again. "God dammit, Cas."

Dean turned around again to find a teacher standing in front of him. He swallowed, already knowing what was coming.

"Mr. Winchester, come with me, please." The man said.

Dean sighed and nodded, going up to the principal's office with the teacher, and taking a seat in one of the chairs inside the office while Tucker sat outside.

"So, you want to tell me what happened, Dean?" The principal said with a frown.

"Tucker called one of my friends a… really bad name, and I told him not to. He kept doing it, though, so I punched him in the face." Dean explained.

The principal sighed. "Dean, you can't keep getting in fights like this. I'm going to have to call one of your parents and suspend you for a while."

"Fine." Dean sighed. He left the office after the call to his father had been made, taking Tucker's spot outside of the office.

He groaned and rubbed his face in his hands, knowing his dad wasn't going to be happy with him at all. He'd get grounded again and chewed out for defending his angel, just like he had been when he was defending Sammy.

"This won't be the end of the world, Dean." Castiel said, appearing in the chair next to Dean's.

Dean jumped and cursed, holding a hand over his heart. "Dammit, Cas. You're seriously gonna give me a heart attack one of these days."

"I'll try to send some sort of sign first next time." Castiel replied.

"Cool. God, Dad's gonna kill me." Dean groaned.

"He won't kill you. He'll just be rather upset." Castiel replied.

"Are you gonna give me some sort of lecture now? Tell me how Heaven would disapprove of my actions or something?" Dean asked.

"That was not my intention. I do not understand the gravity of the situation, but I understand that you intended to defend me and my honor. I wanted to thank you for that." Castiel replied honestly to Dean, holding steady eye contact with him.

Dean blinked at the words before smiling softly. "Yeah, don't mention it Cas. I don't like people talking bad about you or Sammy, you know?"

"I understand." Castiel nodded. "You're a fiercely loyal young man. There's no fault in that. Just watch where you step."

Dean smiled softly and just nodded. "Well, I guess I'm suspended for the rest of the week. You and I can just lay low and relax at home."

"Finally, I can have three days of peace, without having to worry about you potentially getting stabbed." Castiel hummed.

Dean gaped at the reply for a moment before his father walked into the office, a hard frown on his face.

"I'll let you two be alone and meet you back at the house." Castiel said to Dean before disappearing once again.

Dean gulped as John walked over to him and stood in front of him.

"Come on, Dean. You and I are gonna have a talk about this, and then we'll have one with your mother later tonight." John said.

Dean nodded and stood up from his seat and followed his father out to the car, sitting quietly in the passenger seat as his father drove him home.

"So, you wanna tell me what happened? On the phone, they said you got into a fight with another kid, but that's it." John asked.

"You know that Tucker kid we were talking about last night?" Dean asked.

"The one who's always ragging on Sam?" John asked.

"Yeah, him. He was talking shit on Cas this time and he wouldn't stop, so I punched him."

"What do you mean by 'talking shit'?"

"He called Cas 'faggy.''

John frowned at the word and wrinkled his nose a bit. "I guess that is pretty bad. But, Castiel is an angel, Dean, and probably thousands of years old. I'm sure he's been through worse than some pimply little idiot calling him a slur behind his back."

"Yeah, I guess. Cas wasn't mad at me, though."

"Yeah, well, it would take a lot to make that guy completely mad at you, Dean. You could kill a man and he'd still be on your side."

Dean fell silent at that.

"Even if the kid probably could have used a good sucker punch, violence isn't always the answer. I don't want you getting into more fights and getting in trouble at school, we clear? If you have scores to settle with anyone, do it after school, off school grounds. Don't tell your mother I said that." John said to his son.

Dean looked over and smiled softly at his father. "I promise I won't, Dad."

He settled back into his seat and happily started to look forward to all the fun he could have with Castiel while he didn't have to go to school for a few days.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, what do you usually do when we're at school and Mom and Dad are working?" Dean asked the angel once they were alone in the house together.

"Usually, I just sit quietly on the couch." Castiel replied honestly, looking down at the human.

Dean frowned at that and sighed. He didn't know what exactly he'd expected from the angel.

"God, Cas, don't you do anything while we're away?" He asked.

"I just told you. I sit quietly on the couch." Castiel said, cocking his head to the side a bit.

Dean huffed and grabbed Castiel by the wrist, dragging him over to the couch before they sat down together and he grabbed the TV remote. "Starting today, you're actually gonna do fun stuff, okay?"

Castiel just watched Dean curiously as the human turned on the TV and started to flip through the channels until he found one that seemed to satisfy him.

"Here, you can't go wrong with Full House." Dean hummed, settling back against the couch as he watched the rerun with the angel. Castiel watched the TV intently, his brow furrowed as he leaned forward, as if he was trying to decode a message from the show.

"What are they doing?" Castiel finally asked when Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky started to kiss on the screen, sending the studio audience into a frenzy.

"What do you mean, 'what are they doing?'' Dean asked with a small frown.

"Exactly that. What are they doing?" Castiel replied.

"They're kissing, Cas. That's kissing." Dean said.

"I still don't understand."

"It's something humans do to show affection."

"On the mouth? Isn't that horribly unsanitary?"

"Well, yeah, but usually people won't kiss sick people on the mouth." Dean explained. "Angels don't have kissing?"

"Not quite. We show affection in other ways." Castiel replied honestly.

Dean hummed, deciding not to question it further.

"So, humans kiss other humans that they feel affection for?" Castiel asked as the show continued on.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. People kiss people they love. Mom kisses me and Sammy goodnight, that kinda thing." Dean said with a small shrug. "Now, shh. I wanna watch."

Castiel looked over at Dean and nodded, falling silent as he mulled over all the new information. Humans kissed the people that they loved. Honestly, he wished he'd known sooner. After all his years with him, Dean was still teaching him new things. "Dean?" he asked curiously after a few minutes.

"God, what, Cas?" Dean asked with a frown, turning to the angel by his side.

Castiel said nothing and just leaned forward until their closed mouths had touched for just a second. Then, the angel pulled away and just continued to silently stare at Dean.

Dean had to take a moment to register what the hell had just happened.

"Was that… Were you… were you trying to kiss me, Cas?" he asked, stupefied.

"You said that humans did it to show their love. It seemed fitting." Castiel replied.

Dean fell silent at that. So, Castiel had definitely attempted to kiss him. But, did that also mean that the angel loved him?

"You love me, Cas?" Dean asked quietly.

"Of course I do. I love you all very much." Castiel replied.

Dean looked up at Castiel and couldn't help but smile a bit. Everything was so simple to the guy. Love was love with him, and everything was deserving of love. He figured the angel wouldn't entirely comprehend the differences between familial, platonic, and romantic love, so he wouldn't bring them up.

"You're an idiot, Cas." Dean laughed a bit before leaning over to press his mouth to Castiel's, kissing him properly that time and letting their lips slot together.

For whatever reason, Dean had always figured kissing girls would be nice and soft, and kissing other guys would be hard and uncomfortable. Castiel's lips were soft and warm beneath his own. They tasted vaguely of honey, but he didn't remember the angel eating any that morning. To be fair, the angel hadn't eaten much of anything in the past week or so.

Castiel held still and kept his eyes shut, trying get a grasp on the feeling of Dean's lips on his own. The human was moving around a bit and it wasn't more than a second until he felt Dean's fingers start to run through his hair while his other hand rested on his cheek. He wondered if he was supposed to do the same with his hands.

Before he could lift them up to try, though, Dean had pulled away from the kiss. Castiel opened his eyes and just stared at Dean, not sure what to say.

Dean kept his own eyes on the angel, trying to gauge the other's reaction. As per usual, though, Castiel's face was as stoic as ever, with the same tiny crease between his eyebrows that suggested confusion.

He figured Cas wasn't going to say anything soon, or do anything that might ease the awkward air around them. With a small sigh, Dean turned off the TV and returned his attention to the angel. He wanted to try something, but he knew better than to tell Cas beforehand, since it would probably just freak him out. Without another thought, he took hold of Castiel's face and kissed him again, harder that time.

To be completely fair, he only had a vague idea of what to do. Somehow, he knew he had to get his tongue against Castiel's. The only problem was figuring out the best, most tactical way to do that.

Dean decided to start by gently running his tongue along Castiel's bottom lip. To his pleasant surprise, this made the angel gasp. He took that fraction of a second to slide his tongue into the angel's mouth. He kept Castiel's head in place by holding onto the back of it with one hand and his jaw with his other.

Castiel felt his vessel's heart start to speed up as Dean held him in the deep kiss. His mind was going nearly a thousand places at once. What was Dean doing? Why did it feel like he was trying to taste his mouth? Why would Dean even want to know what that tasted like? Why did he feel his body relaxing into this new, weird kiss?

Castiel finally closed his eyes and slowly let his arms wind around the human's neck and over his shoulders to hold Dean close. He let Dean guide him through the kiss and down to lie on the couch underneath him.

Dean almost couldn't believe it. Castiel was going with it. He wasn't putting up a fight or questioning him at all. Instead, the angel was nestled nicely between him and the couch. Cas had his arms around Dean's neck gently and Dean could feel his fingers gently playing with his hair at the nape of his neck.

Dean moved his hands down to Castiel's sweater and pushed them underneath it to gently feel at the angel's skin. His hands snaked further and further up the angel's torso. When one of them brushed across his torso, Castiel let out a small, stuttered gasp into the kiss. Dean felt the noise travel down to his stomach and further.

Castiel had briefly started to try to get a grip on what was going on, only to have the process cut off when he felt Dean's fingers ghost across the left side of his chest. Dean's hips were pressing down against his thigh.

"Dean, what's happening?" he gasped out between heated kisses while his human seemed to have his heart set on getting him out of his sweater.

"What do you mean, 'what's happening?'" Dean asked with a small smile at the angel, pulling away for a moment.

"Your tongue was in my mouth." Castiel panted back.

"Yeah. It's called a French kiss, Cas."

Castiel blinked at the reply. His widened eyes narrowed while his eyebrows knit together and his head cocked to the side.

"I don't understand. Dean, you're American." He replied.

Dean couldn't help but smile at the reply and laugh a bit. "That's what the kind of kiss is called, Cas. It's called a French kiss."

"I don't understand what's inherently French about it." Castiel replied with a small sigh. "Why are your pants hard?"

Dean blinked in shock at the sudden question. He felt his face get at least twenty degrees warmer and quickly scrambled off of Castiel's lap.

"What? Oh, uh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." He replied hurriedly.

"Dean, if there's something wrong with you, you need to tell me. It's my job to keep you safe."

"I said not to worry about it, alright?" Dean snapped. "Just, God, just give me a minute."

Castiel frowned at the sudden harsh tone Dean took with him before his human scurried out of the room and up to the bathroom upstairs. He sat upright on the couch and tugged his sweater down, glancing down at his own lap in confusion. He shifted a bit, deciding that, like most odd problems that came with having a vessel, the problem would go away with time.

He waited patiently and quietly on the couch, wondering if other angels had ever had problems with their charges suddenly becoming testy.

Dean didn't talk to him much for the rest of the day and kept to himself until Sam came home from school. Sam chatted happily with Dean and Cas as he got set up at the kitchen table to start on his homework.

"Hey, thanks for the algebra help, Cas! I was the only one in the class who had all the answers right and my teacher was really impressed." Sam said with a happy smile to the angel while Castiel got him a small snack ready, just as he always did in the afternoons.

"Oh my god, you're such a freaking nerd." Dean groaned.

"I'm glad I could help you, Sam. If you ever want any more help, I'm often available." Castiel replied, giving Sam a small bunch of grapes and a small stack of crackers on a plate.

Sam grinned happily and started to eat, settling in at the table. "What did you do all day, Dean?"

Dean paused at the question. "I just hung out all day with Cas and watched TV. It was awesome."

"You just watched TV all day?" Sam asked in wonder.

"Well, Dean did teach me about human culture." Castiel added. He furrowed his brows and cocked his head in confusion when Dean's head whipped around to give him a dirty look.

"What'd you teach him, Dean?" Sam asked.

"Nothing! Don't worry about it." Dean replied quickly.

"He taught me how humans show –" Castiel started.

"Cas, Christ, just shut up!" Dean snapped at the angel.

Castiel frowned at the outburst, watching as Dean got up with a huff and left the room. He sighed as he watched his human go, turning his attention back to Sam, who was staring up at him.

"Mom said puberty gets rough, but man. He's a headcase." He sighed, turning back to his homework.

"This is normal for humans?" Castiel asked.

"Yeah, pretty much all teenagers get moody and weird about dumb things. Dad says it's the hormones."

Castiel nodded in understanding and kept relatively quiet. He helped Sam with his homework a bit further until John and Mary returned home from work for the day.

Dean had said that humans kiss each other to show affection and love, and Castiel loved everyone in that family with every fiber of his being. He thought a bit about how surprised and happy the humans would be when they found that he'd learned a bit more of their culture. The better he could merge himself into their home, the easier it would be to guard Dean. He appeared in front of the couple in an instant, a sudden gust of wind in the house traveling with him.

"Oh! Castiel, I didn't hear you come over." Mary said with a laugh as the initial shock subsided, her hand over her heart.

Castiel just smiled at her before turning his attention to John. He had to stand on his toes a bit so his vessel could reach, but he wasted no more time before pressing his lips to John's for a second, then turning to do the same to Mary.

Castiel stepped back to see the pair standing and staring at him in shock. They seemed so surprised that he'd learned such an integral part of their culture. He was sure, once the shock passed, they would be pleased. He stepped forward again to pull the couple into his arms to hug them both at once.

Mary let the angel hug her and John, her wide eyes meeting her husband's, who seemed to have as much of a clue about what was happening as she did.

"Ah, Castiel, who taught you that?" She asked after the angel had released them from the hug.

"Dean did. When he showed me, his kiss was longer and different, though." Castiel replied honestly, continuing to smile at the couple.

"Dean showed you?" John asked in awe, looking up at the stairs towards his eldest son's room.

"Yes. Please don't be offended that mine didn't last that long. I figured that, since it was my first time kissing either of you, I ought to start off easily and build up. Dean's was more advanced, which makes sense, since he clearly knows more about it than I do." Castiel explained.

"What did Dean tell you kissing was for?" John asked.

Castiel paused, wondering if the human man was quizzing him to test his knowledge. "Well, he said it was how humans showed affection and love."

"I see. Then, how was Dean's different?" John asked as he shrugged off his jacket.

"Dean's kiss was longer, and he put his tongue in my mouth and his hands up my shirt. He started to touch my body in ways I didn't think were possible." Castiel replied easily, looking from John to Mary. "Did you know your nipples are good for something? Well, obviously, yours are."

"Castiel," John spoke up, pulling the angel's attention back over to him. "Buddy, Dean wasn't really telling you the truth."

"What are you talking about? Why would Dean lie to me?"

"Because he's a human teenager. They tend to do it a lot to get what they want." John said. "Listen, humans kiss to show love and affection, yeah, but there's multiple kinds of love, and some kisses go with certain kinds of love. I'd kiss Mary on the mouth because she's my wife and I love her. Kissing on the mouth is usually for romantic or sexual love. The way Dean was kissing you was very sexual."

Castiel listened in awe as John explained everything to him, the man gently setting a hand on his shoulder to lead him over to sit down on the couch in the living room.

"If you want to kiss Sam or Dean or even Mary and I, it's better to kiss on the cheek or forehead. That expresses a more familial or friendly kind of love." John said.

"Then, why would Dean kiss me on the mouth like he did? He said it was French." Castiel asked in confusion.

"He was taking advantage of you, Cas. He probably wanted to see how far he could get with you and push his boundaries. If he'd told you the kiss was sexual, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have been that open to it." John replied.

"I don't even know if that's allowed." Castiel thought aloud. "I think a sexual relationship between an angel and his ward would complicate things too much. The last thing I want to do is make anyone angry with me."

"That's understandable. Hey, don't worry too much about kissing me or Mary, okay? Just don't kiss us on the mouth again, alright?" John said, patting the angel on the back.

"Alright. Thank you for not being angry with me." Castiel replied.

"Hey, you didn't know any better." John said with a small shrug.

Castiel nodded and looked back at Sam in the kitchen as the younger boy did his homework. "I should let Sam know I love him, too. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't."

"Just keep it on the forehead or cheek, alright? I don't want the neighbors accidentally getting the wrong idea and calling the cops." John said.

Castiel looked confused, but said nothing while he walked away.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, Cas? Do you think you could – " Sam started as the angel walked back into the room, stopping in the middle of his sentence when Castiel silently came over to him and kissed his forehead. "What was that for?"

"Because I love you, Sam Winchester," Castiel replied.

Sam blinked at the words before smiling up at the angel and waving him down. Once Castiel was kneeling in front of him, he leaned forward and kissed the angel's forehead in return.

"You're a funny angel, Cas." He teased with a warm smile.

Castiel looked up at Sam at the kiss. "Why is it that the child who is not my ward seems to prefer me more than my ward does?" he asked, talking to no one in the room.

"Don't take it too personally. Dean's like that with everyone." Sam hummed.

Dean didn't talk much to anyone for the rest of the night. He was quiet at dinner and went up to shower and go to his room right afterward. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Castiel or even see him more than he had to. The angel was always asking the stupidest questions and saying the dumbest things. After the kiss from earlier that day, he didn't want to see Castiel's face, especially not when he was squinting at him with his brows furrowed and head cocked to the side like a confused puppy.

After a while of boredom, Dean laid down on his bed and curled up. It didn't take him long to fall asleep and start dreaming.

He was panting and sweating as he ran up a hill, Castiel's hand in his own as the angel sprinted along behind him. He had no clue what they were running from, but he just knew he couldn't look back. They just had to keep running.

"Dean!" He heard Castiel call out as the other's hand slipped from his grip. Dean finally turned around at the call to see his angel, draped in white cloth and barefoot, being grabbed and pulled away by what looked like about fifty to a hundred people in black robes and hoods. They were grabbing Castiel's big white wings and whatever other limbs they could grasp. Their nails scratched open his skin and the hands on his wings tore out huge feathers as Castiel fought to get away.

"Cas! Castiel!" Dean cried back, trying to run back to help pull his angel away. However, he barely seemed to be moving, even though he was sprinting.

In the living room, Castiel was standing behind the couch, watching the human family watch the TV. He heard the faint noise from Dean's room and looked up towards the ceiling. After a moment longer, he decided to go check on his human.

As he appeared in the bedroom, he found the teenager sweating and pitching about in his bed, mumbling his name over and over.

"Dean." He said, moving over to the bed. It wasn't the first time Dean had had a nightmare, and he was sure it wouldn't be his last.

Castiel sat down on Dean's bed and reached over to set a hand on his forehead. In a second, Dean had calmed down and was sleeping soundly. He smiled at that and moved to gently change his human into his pajamas and tuck him into his bed.

Castiel liked to think that he'd gotten good at dealing with his human's nightmares by that time. He'd developed a routine that always seemed to help Dean sleep. After making sure he wasn't having the nightmare anymore, he'd tuck him in again. Then, he kissed Dean's forehead softly and started to stroke his hair while softly singing to him. For the rest of the night, he'd stay in Dean's room to watch over him, just in case the dreams came back. They rarely ever did.

Dean woke up in the morning as the sunlight streamed into his room. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and glanced over when he noticed Castiel out of the corner of his eye. The rising sun was positioned perfectly just outside the window and behind the angel's head. Dean reached over to grab the camera his parents had given him a few Christmases ago and quietly snapped a picture of what he was sure would be the closest thing to Castiel's halo that he would ever see while alive.

Castiel blinked and turned to Dean when he heard the shutter go off. He watched as the other snapped one more picture of him in a confused silence.

"Morning, Cas." Dean hummed, setting his camera aside.

"Good morning, Dean. Did you sleep well?" Castiel replied, getting up and going over to his human.

"Yeah, I slept pretty well," Dean replied. "Were you in my room all night?"

"You'd become fitful. I wanted to make sure you would be alright after you'd calmed down." Castiel replied.

"Dude, creepy." Dean scoffed, moving to get out of his bed and pull a bathrobe on over his pajamas.

"I just wanted to make sure you would be alright," Castiel said with a small frown, wandering over to stand behind Dean.

"You worry about me too much. I'm not a baby anymore, Cas."

"Is that why you kissed me sexually yesterday?"

Dean sputtered while he took out his retainers at the question. "I what?"

"You told me you were just kissing me because you loved me. Your parents said that when you kiss like the French and start touching the other person, it's sexual." Castiel replied with a small frown.

Dean blinked at the statement. "That's called making out, Cas, people do it."

"It still was sexual in nature, and you didn't tell me. Dean, I'm an angel. I'm supposed to be and remain a beacon of purity and – " Castiel stated before Dean had grabbed him by the shirt and pressed their lips together.

"Cas, you gotta work on talking less, you know that?" Dean murmured against the other's lips.

"But, Dean, I – "

Dean stopped him by leaning in again and biting his bottom lip lightly.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast." Dean hummed, pulling away from his shocked angel and leaving the room.

Castiel took a moment to come back to reality. He lifted his hands to feel at his burning cheeks and glanced up at the ceiling of the room, silently asking Michael what he should do about the way he and his vessel seemed to be reacting to his human. Within seconds, all he could hear was the sound of the archangel's voice in his head.

"Yes… As far as I know, both of our bodies are male, so no, there's no chance of creating a Nephilim." Castiel said softly. "Unless I understand humans less than I thought, that is… Yes, I understand. I won't lose sight of my orders. Dean will be protected."

"Who're you talking to?" Sam asked from the hallway, already dressed for school and staring in awe at the angel in his brother's bedroom.

Castiel finished speaking with Michael and turned when he heard the tail end of Sam's sentence. "Sam, good morning."

"Hi, Cas. Who were you talking to?" Sam asked, watching the angel stand up and walk over to him.

"Michael. I just needed to check in with him." Castiel replied, moving to walk down the stairs with Sam.

"Cool." Sam hummed, perfectly content with the reply. "What do you think you and Dean'll do all day?"

"I can't be sure. He seemed perfectly happy to watch TV yesterday. Perhaps it'll be another day like yesterday."

Sam nodded, keeping close to Castiel. "Hey, Cas? If there are angels like you out there, does that mean there're demons out there, too?"

"Yes, there are demons and even Lucifer. While there are Heaven and God, there's Hell and the Devil. But, you shouldn't worry at all, Sam. I will protect Dean as well as the rest of you." Castiel replied, letting Sam take hold of his hand gently.

Sam smiled up at him at that and kept close to the angel as they walked down to the kitchen together.

"Good morning, Castiel," Mary said with a warm smile. "Sammy, are you ready for school?"

"Yeah, Mom." Sam nodded, taking his lunch bag from her. "Thanks for packing my lunch, Mom. You wouldn't believe the stuff they put in cafeteria food. You'd puke if I told you."

Mary smiled at that and ruffled his hair. "I'll take your word for it."

Mary, John, and Sam said their goodbyes to Dean and Castiel before they all left the house to go to school and work.

Dean finished eating his breakfast easily and took care of his dishes. "Now that they're gone, we're free to do whatever we want." He said to Castiel with a big grin.

"Well, I'm sure it needs to be within reason," Castiel replied.

"It's not like we're gonna go out and set fires for fun, Cas. Just a bit of exploring in that ravine area behind the house." Dean replied with a roll of his eyes.

"The ravine? Are you sure it's safe?" Castiel asked, looking out the window of the kitchen to the backyard and the small wooded area a bit behind it.

"Of course it is. It's just a bunch of trees." Dean hummed. "I'm gonna get dressed, and then we'll head out."

Castiel said nothing, and just let his human leave the room. Dean was stubborn, and there would be no talking him out of his little adventure. All he could do was be sure he was ready for anything. It could very well be, though, that Dean was right. The ravine could be perfectly harmless, and in the end, the fresh air would do Dean well.

Dean came back down in a T-shirt, a flannel shirt over it, a pair of jeans, and hiking boots. "We'll take the house keys and lock up after us." He said, plucking the spare house keys down from the rack on the wall.

"Please don't go seeking out any trouble, Dean," Castiel said, following his human out of the house.

"I'm not an idiot, Cas. I'm totally careful." Dean huffed, locking the front door before leading the way back to the ravine behind the house.

As soon as they entered the ravine, they realized that it was much larger than they'd originally thought. For a moment, Dean worried that they might get lost, but then he remembered that, if need be, Cas could just fly them home.

"Hey, check it out! There's a little creek back here." Dean said with a small smile as he walked on in front of the angel.

"So it would seem." Castiel agreed, watching as Dean located a couple large rocks a bit further up the creek that could be used to cross. "Dean, be careful."

"Relax, Cas," Dean replied as he climbed onto the first rock, wavered a bit, then caught his balance again. "The moss kinda makes them slippery."

Castiel watched worriedly as the teenager slowly crossed the large rocks.

"Come on, Cas! Your turn!" Dean said with a grin. "Don't think about just zapping over here, either. Cross the rocks if you're not a pussy!"

"If I'm not a what?" Castiel asked, his head cocked to the right.

"It means coward, Cas. Cross the rocks or you're a coward." Dean explained.

Castiel sighed and examined the large rocks. They were just a couple of rocks, and he was an angel of the Lord. He'd be hurt by something far worse sooner than he'd ever be hurt by a pair of slippery rocks in a small creek.

Without saying anything more, he stepped onto the first and then moved to step onto the second. His foot on the second wasn't as secure as he'd assumed, though, and it slipped down as soon as he put his weight on it and lifted his foot from the first rock. In an instant, he was sitting in the shallow creek and Dean was laughing at him from dry land.

"How's the water, Cas?" Dean asked between fits of laughter.

"I'm wet," Castiel said as he stood up and waded out of the creek to the other side.

"Great deduction, Sherlock. That's why they pay you the big bucks." Dean chuckled, watching the angel try to shake off his dripping wet trench coat sleeves.

"My socks and shoes are wet, too." Castiel observed as he stepped experimentally in his now oddly sloshy shoes and socks.

"We can dry them out when we get home. Come on, I found a trail of rocks. We should see where it goes." Dean replied, grabbing Castiel by the hand and dragging him along to follow the trail of rocks.

They wove through the ravine together, following the winding path for what seemed like nearly an hour. Eventually, the path led to a small clearing, where a larger arrangement of rocks was lying on the ground. Just behind the formation was what looked like a small wooden shack that was leaning a bit to one side and looked like it had been abandoned for a good hundred years.

"Whoa, what the hell? What is it?" Dean asked, moving to start examining the formation.

"Dean, we should leave." Castiel said with a frown.

"Why? This is awesome! You only see stuff like this in movies." Dean said with a grin to Castiel. "Hey, Cas, does a star inside of a circle mean anything?"

"It's a pentagram, Dean. It's satanic, that's why we need to leave." Castiel huffed.

"They're just rocks, Cas. You could make a swastika out of rocks, but it would still just be a couple of punk kids playing around." Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's check out the shed."

Castiel said nothing and just followed behind Dean carefully into the dusty little shed. The thing had no windows at all, so the only light streaming in came from the doorway, where the door was hanging from the hinges.

Dean explored the little shed, walking carefully into the more shadowy areas of it. He eventually had to put his hands out in front of him to make sure he didn't run into anything.

As he walked, his hand hit something wet and soft, like soaked fabric. Curiously, he moved his hand around and felt what felt like wet hair.

"What the hell?!" He gasped, stumbling backward and falling over his feet. He looked at his hands as he picked himself off the ground, only to find the fingertips on one of his hands covered in blood. He fumbled for the small flashlight he'd brought with in his pocket and quickly turned it on and pointed it towards the dark area.

In the corner of the shed stood a little girl with long, sandy blonde hair and a yellow sundress. The dress and her hair were stained heavily with blood like someone had stabbed her in the heart. The girl stared back at him, unblinking, her eyes completely black. She smiled wryly at them and started to step closer.

Every instinct in Dean's body told him to run, jump over the creek, and never look back. The only problem was, he couldn't seem to get his legs to move at all.

"Dean, close your eyes and cover your ears," Castiel ordered, pushing the teenager back to stand behind him, so he was separating Dean from the girl.

Dean didn't have time to think. He grabbed the back of Castiel's trench coat and buried his face into the taller boy's back. He pushed his fingers into his ears, but it didn't seem to help much. In an instant, the shed was filled with a bright, blinding light and a high-pitched whining sound. It sounded like his ears were ringing, but it came from outside. Then, in an instant, everything went dark and quiet again. Dean opened his ears and pulled his fingers out of his ears. He peered around Castiel to where the little girl was crumpled, lifeless on the ground.

"Did you kill her? What the hell was that?" Dean asked with a frown.

"She was dead when we got here. Come, let's go home." Castiel said, holding Dean's shoulders and walking with the teenager out of the shed.

"She wasn't dead! She was walking right toward me!" Dean protested, walking with the angel.

"The body was dead when we got here. The only thing keeping her alive was the demon possessing her." Castiel explained. "When we get home, we'll contact the authorities. Her blood was still wet, so she was killed recently. There are people who love her who'll need to know."

"The demon?" Dean asked with a frown, not stopping Castiel from pressing a hand to his forehead. In an instant, the air around them blew like a tornado and suddenly stopped a second later as they reappeared back in the kitchen of the house.

"Yes, the demon. Let's pray that that one didn't have any close allies that will be upset with its death. Otherwise, they could easily try to hunt me down for killing it, and by extension, you." Castiel said as he started stripping.

"What do we do if demons do try to get revenge?" Dean asked worriedly as he watched the angel pull off his shoes, socks, and then his pants.

"If more demons come, and you're put in the line of fire, then I will kill every last one of them. My underpants are wet, too." Castiel replied as he stood in the undershirt he'd worn under his sweater and his boxer-briefs, moving to pull them down as well.

"Whoa! Change your underwear in your room. Whipping it out in a family kitchen just seems wrong." Dean said reaching forward and grabbing Castiel's wrists to pull his hands away from his underwear.

"Whipping what out?" Castiel asked confusedly, letting Dean turn him around and push him out of the room and towards the stairs.

"Never mind. Just change in your room! Jesus." Dean replied.

"Alright," Castiel said, giving in and heading up the stairs.

Dean sighed and watched the angel walk up the stairs. His eyes couldn't not drift down from his back. The white undershirt had ridden up a couple inches to expose the waistband of his underwear and the small of his back. He wished time would stop so he could stare at the two small dimples just over his hips and the way the wet fabric of his underwear clung to his ass and thighs as he walked. The only thing that would make the view better was if his underwear was made of a thin, white fabric instead.

Dean ran his fingers through his hair once Cas had disappeared from sight, trying to get a grasp on everything that had happened. Demons existed, though he probably shouldn't be too surprised about that one since they had an angel living in the house. Demons existing only made sense. However, said angel had just killed a demon, which could mean that more would come to avenge their buddy. He'd seen a dead body and the site of what was probably a Satanic ritual, and then almost died himself. He heard Castiel kill a demon. Only a few moments ago, he'd been fantasizing about Castiel's ass. It was almost too much adventure for one day.

Castiel came back down the stairs in a new, dry sweater and a dry pair of jeans. Presumably, he was wearing dry underwear, too.

"Alright, let's call the cops about the body. God, they better not make us lead them to it." Dean sighed, getting up from the couch he'd collapsed onto.

"Do you want a glass of water?" Castiel asked curiously.

"How 'bout a glass of Everclear?" Dean replied, moving to the landline phone in the kitchen.

"Well, water tends to be rather clear," Castiel said after a momentary pause.

"Everclear is a type of alcohol, Cas," Dean said with a small smile.

"Oh. You're getting water." Castiel replied.

"I figured as much." Dean hummed, dialing 911 on the phone while his guardian angel doted on him.

The phone call was more tedious than anything, as he sat down and twirled the cord around his finger while answering all the operator's questions about where he was and the body they'd found. Apparently, the police had been dispatched and would arrive at the house soon, but he still couldn't hang up the phone.

"Cas, can you let them in?" Dean asked when the police arrived and knocked at the door.

Castiel nodded and went to the front door. The men outside were rather large, especially for humans, and came in a pack of three.

"Good morning, kid. May we come in?" One of the officers asked.

Castiel blinked at the greeting, momentarily forgetting that he was inhabiting the body of a teenager. He wordlessly stepped aside to let the group inside the house and shut the door behind them as soon as they were inside.

"Alright, was it just you who found the body?" The lead officer asked him.

"No, I was with Dean when we found it," Castiel replied, leading them back to the kitchen where Dean was sitting with his water.

"Alright, and where did you find the body?"

"It was out in a weird little shack in the ravine," Dean said.

"I can you lead you back to it. Dean should stay here; he seems rather shaken." Castiel spoke up.

"I'm fine, Cas. Stop treating me like a damn child." Dean huffed.

"Alright, well, why don't you two show us where you found the body, we'll call in some paramedics to take care of it, and then we'll all go down to the station. We have some questions to ask you, boys." One of the officers said.

"Alright, we'll get our shoes back on," Castiel said, moving to help Dean to his feet.

"Cas, let go of me," Dean said, swatting at the angel's hands. "Just get some dry shoes on, for Christ's sake."

Castiel nodded and let go of Dean obediently before going to the front of the house to pull on a spare pair of tennis shoes that were still dry. Once they were all ready, they lead the police officers out of the house and locked the door behind them again. Then, they started the trek back into the ravine.

"Be careful of the rocks, they're very slippery," Castiel commented when they got to the creek, stepping very cautiously to get across.

Dean rolled his eyes as he followed after Castiel across the creek, leading the team of police officers and watching as they crossed the creek one by one, like a stupid-looking group of baby ducks. From there, they found and followed the trail of rocks all the way back to the large pentagram and rickety old wooden shed.

"The body is in there," Castiel said, pointing to the shed.

One of the police officers were taking pictures of the site for evidence, and the group all walked into the old shack together. In a few moments, they re-emerged, one of them talking into his radio to call for a team of paramedics.

"Alright, it'll take a few minutes for them to get here. When they do, we'll all head back to the station to ask you two some questions. When we're all done, we'll get you two a ride home. Are your parents at work?" One of the officers asked.

"Yeah, they are," Dean said, keeping close to Castiel as they stood with the officers. When the paramedics arrived for the body and the area was taped off, they left to go back to the police cars parked in front of the house.

Dean sat in the back of one car with Castiel, trying not to look too nervous about riding in a police car and going to a police station. "Cas, if they split us up to ask us questions separately, for the love of God, think before you speak."

"What do you mean?" Castiel asked with a small frown.

"I mean, don't say any weird shit. For once in your life, don't act like an absolute child, okay?" Dean sighed.

"Alright. I'll do my best." Castiel replied.

"We will be separating you two. We just want to make sure the stories are coherent and cover all our bases. You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide." One of the officers said from the front of the car.

"That's fair." Dean hummed.

"Don't worry, I've never lied before," Castiel said honestly. Dean shot him a dirty look.

"I'm sure, kid, I'm sure." One of the officers sighed.

They all walked inside together as they reached the police station, and then back to separate questioning rooms.

Castiel walked with one of the officers into a private room and sat down at the small table while the officer set a tape recorder down on the table and pushed a cassette into it, then hit a button on the device.

"Alright. Let's start easy. What's your name?" The officer asked, sitting down on the other side of the table.

"Castiel," Castiel replied.

"Alright. What's your last name, Castiel?"

"I don't have a last name."

"What do you mean you don't have a last name?"

"Exactly that. My name is Castiel, just Castiel."

"Listen, kid, I'm sure you're in shock, but you should really be taking this seriously. Someone's died, you know. Now, what's your full name?"

Castiel blinked at the question. He didn't want to lie to the man. He cocked his head at the officer and looked at him confusedly. Then, he figured it might not be lying if he told the officer the name of his vessel. That would probably be allowed.

"Jimmy Novak. I'm Jimmy Novak." Castiel said.

"Is that your final answer?" The officer asked with a sigh.

"Yes."

The officer took a small note on his notepad.

"Alright, Jimmy. Let's start from the beginning. Why aren't you and your buddy in school today?"

"I don't attend school. Dean wasn't in school because he was suspended. He punched another student a couple days ago, so he's been suspended. He'll go back on Monday."

"Alright, let me make sure I'm following you. Dean was alone at home and he invited you over. You two got bored and decided to go for a walk through the ravine behind his house?"

"Yes. Dean wanted to go for a walk through the ravine. We hiked around for a while. I fell into the creek the first time we crossed it and got all wet. Then we found the trail of rocks, and Dean wanted to see where it led. So, we followed the rocks and found the pentagram. At that point, I wanted to leave and go back to the house. It felt very wrong and unholy. Dean wanted to stay and explore the place a bit more, so we did. He walked into the shed, and it was very dark, so he couldn't see much. I kept near the entrance, but he ventured further inside. He felt the body standing up in one corner of the shack and fell backward in shock. He had a flashlight in his pocket, so he took it out and saw the girl there." Castiel explained.

"And what did the girl look like?" The officer asked.

"She was very pale. She had hair the color of sand and she was wearing a yellow sundress. The front of her dress had a large bloodstain across the center of her chest that got the ends of her hair wet with blood as well." Castiel replied honestly. "Her eyes were pitch black. She started walking forward to attack Dean, so I got between the two of them and smote – smited? – I incapacitated her. She fell to the ground and Dean was in shock, so I took him back home to get him water. That's when we called the authorities, and then you showed up."

"So, the girl wasn't dead when you found her, but mortally wounded?"

"No, she was dead. She hadn't been dead for long, though. A demon had possessed her physical form and was controlling her corpse like a marionette made of meat."

The officer wrinkled his nose at that. "… Jimmy, I'm guessing you're a fairly religious young man, right?"

"Yes, of course. I was sent by God to keep Dean safe. I'm certain that being attacked and killed by a demon wasn't a part of God's plan for him." Castiel replied with a nod.

"Alright. Okay." The officer said, rubbing his temples. "Is there any possibility that you're in shock, too? Are you absolutely sure you saw the girl walking with black eyes?"

"Of course. I wouldn't lie about a demon attack."

At about ten-thirty in the morning, the officer looked like he wanted to take a nap.

"Alright, kid. I think that's all I need from you, then." He said, turning off the recorder and walking Castiel out of the room.

"Thank you for listening. I hope you can find the killers." Castiel said, sitting down in one of the waiting seats while Dean finished his own questioning.

"You and me both, Jimmy." The officer said, walking over to another worker at a desk. "Hey, do me a favor and run the name Jimmy Novak through the database. Do we have a history of this guy at all?"

"Let me see. Is Novak spelled N-O-V-A-K?" The desk worker asked.

"Yeah, like the lady in Vertigo." The officer nodded.

The worker nodded and typed a bit on her desktop computer, then glanced from the screen to the teenager sitting a few yards away, and back to the screen. "I'll be damned…"

"What? Did we have something?" The officer asked, moving to stand behind her and see.

"Yeah. Jimmy Novak is an orphan who disappeared from his orphanage in Topeka about three years ago. He's got to be about twenty now." She said, looking over at the boy in the sweater, who was looking around the station peacefully from his seat. "He doesn't look any different than his picture, though."

"Kid ages well, I guess. Or he got out of puberty early." The officer breathed, looking over the file on the screen.

"One of the other orphans close to him, Deandra Jackson, said he told her, 'Jimmy isn't here anymore' and walked off, and that his voice had changed drastically. Apparently, it suddenly seemed very hoarse and strained." The woman read off to him.

"It does sound like that. The kid said that his name was Castiel and that God sent him to protect his buddy." The officer thought aloud.

The worker looked over at the dark-haired teenager in the chair again, who was now staring emotionless back at her, his head cocked to one side like a confused puppy.

"Jesus. Well, he's definitely weird. Let's keep him flagged, just in case." The officer sighed. "Does he have any other history in there? Or just that he's been missing?"

"No, he's just been missing for a few years. He has no criminal history whatsoever."

"Alright. We'll keep our eyes on him. Technically, he is an adult now, even if he doesn't look it. We can let his old orphanage know that we found him, just in case they'll want to know."

"Alright. Is there any way we can get him to stop staring at us?" The woman asked.

"I'll distract him." The officer said, walking over to Castiel. "Hey, Jimmy, do you want coffee or water or anything? I don't know how much longer they'll be with Dean."

Castiel looked up at him and shook his head. "Thank you, no. I'll be alright waiting here until they're done."

"Alright. If you want or need anything, just ask her." The officer replied, pointing to the desk worker.

Castiel nodded in understanding and watched as the officer left to review the tape recording. In a few minutes, Dean and his officer emerged together.

"Alright, let's get you two a ride home. We'll call you if we need anything else." The new officer said.

Dean nodded and told the officer his mother's work phone number and moved to sit down next to Castiel.

"Hugh? Hey, can you come here and listen to this to make sure I'm not crazy?" Castiel's officer called from another room.

Castiel looked over, then heard the audio recording of his voice that was slightly distorted by a high-pitched whining sound. The officers quietly discussed it while as the woman at the desk talked to Mary on the phone.

"God, that was a pain in the ass." Dean huffed as they waited together in the station. "I hope they don't need anything else from us. I want to go home and I want pie."

Castiel turned his attention back to Dean. "There might be some left at home." He said. "Your mother sounds rather frazzled."

"What? How can you tell, the phone's way over there?" Dean asked.

"Dean, I'm an angel. I can hear a lot more than just a phone call being held a few yards away." Castiel said with a small sigh.

Dean blinked at the sudden sass from the angel who had yet to get a firm grasp on humor or sarcasm. It was jarring, to say the least. "Damn, alright Cas."

Mary didn't take more than a few minutes to arrive at the police station after the phone call. The woman looked worried, though relieved to find her son and the angel unharmed and safe in the police station.

"Dean, Castiel." She breathed, gathering them both in her arms to hug them close. "What the hell were you doing?"

"We went walking in the woods and found a body," Castiel explained to her simply as he let the woman stroke his hair.

Mary blinked at the explanation. "How about you two stay inside while you're home alone from now on, alright?"

"No problem, Mom." Dean said, walking out with her and Castiel to her car. "Mom, do we have any more pie?"


	8. Chapter 8

After about two hours, Dean had gotten sick of his senior prom. He'd been tempted to head back to his friends' place for a few drinks, but he knew Cas was waiting for him outside the school building, and he had a curfew to keep.

So, he loosened his tie as he walked out of the school building and headed out towards the meeting point, spotting the figure of his angel standing near the bleachers of the football field.

"What's the word, Cas?" He said in greeting as he sauntered up to the other man.

"A shortened version of my name. Did you enjoy yourself?" Castiel replied.

"It was fun enough, I guess," Dean said with a shrug. "How much did you miss me?"

"You know I spent every moment worrying about you," Castiel replied, letting Dean pull him into his arms.

"You worry too much about me." Dean hummed, holding Castiel close to himself and knocking their foreheads together.

"I worry a reasonable amount, especially knowing you and the things you get into," Castiel replied, wrapping his arms around Dean's shoulders to hold the human close to himself.

Dean said nothing in reply and just kissed the angel warmly. Castiel returned the kiss in an instant, holding the teenager close against himself. After a few moments, Dean had his tongue in Castiel's mouth, eagerly tasting every bit of the angel as he could.

"We should head home," Castiel said softly as Dean started to kiss his jaw.

"It's not that late yet. We have a few hours, and the weather's not that bad yet. Let's stay out here a while." Dean replied, smirking at the sound Cas made when he sucked at one particular spot on the side of his neck. "Besides, I'm starting to think you want to stay here a while longer, too."

"Dean, please. You know full well how this vessel will react to you." Castiel breathed, moaning softly when Dean bit his neck.

"Oh, I know." Dean chuckled. "And you know how I react to you. Let's react to each other for a little while, Angel."

Castiel didn't say anything, but soon nodded and caught Dean's lips again. The human was safe when they were together. If they wanted to waste a bit of time exploring physical pleasure, that would be fine.

"Do you have everything we'd need?" Castiel asked curiously.

Dean nodded with a big grin, pulling out a small packet of lube, a flavored condom, and a regularly lubricated condom from his wallet. "I always keep emergency supplies. So, how do you want to do this?"

"I have some idea. Let's go back in the shadowy area, though, so we won't be seen." Castiel replied, leading Dean back further into the shadows of the bleachers. With that, the angel took control, kissing Dean carefully and lovingly while his hands went down to the belt around his waist.

Dean hummed, letting Castiel do as he pleased. In a minute, he felt his pants and underwear pooled around his ankles. At some point during the kiss, the angel had plucked the flavored condom from his hand.

He looked down and thanked God for letting his eyes adjust to the dark enough so he could see the way the angel tore open the condom and almost adoringly rolled it onto his cock. His blue eyes were glowing faintly when he looked up and started to lick the cock in front of his face.

Dean groaned. "Jesus, baby…" he sighed.

Castiel smiled at the words he'd learned were meant to be praise. He gently rested his hands on Dean's waist, holding the long button-down shirt up and out of the way. From there, he started to lick up the length of Dean's cock.

Dean sighed happily. Part of him wanted to complain about how much Castiel was teasing him, but he really didn't mind that much. He liked letting the angel have total control over what they did together. Whatever they did, he knew that Cas knew exactly how to make him feel like he'd gone to Heaven.

He wondered if that was what Heaven was. A nice, pretty place where he could have an angel on his cock whenever he wanted. The thought was enough to make him almost want to start taking church more seriously. Almost.

At some point, while he was zoning out, Castiel had shifted one hand to hold Dean's shirt up against his belly, his other hand moving down to start fondling and rolling his balls. He'd started to lightly suck at the head of his cock and was gradually working on taking it further and further into his mouth with each bob of his head.

All of a sudden, Dean wanted Castiel naked. He wanted to be naked with him, and see the moonlight filter through the bleachers and onto their bare skin.

"Fuck, baby…" he moaned, finding it harder and harder to translate his thoughts into words and focus on anything other the way Castiel had his nose buried in the nest of hair just above his cock.

The angel's eyes had fluttered shut, Dean's cock completely wrapped in the sweet warmth of his mouth. Dean reached down to rub the angel's shoulders in silent praise. He fumbled with Castiel's trenchcoat, eventually pushing it down the other's arms. Castiel seemed to get the hint and wiggled out of the coat. He tried to get out of the sweater he was wearing as much as possible without pulling off of Dean.

Dean chuckled when heard the angel give a small huff of frustration before the man reluctantly pulled away from him to pull the sweater off. Dean took the opportunity to step out of his pants, and quickly take off his own jacket, tie, and shirt.

"I don't want to finish just yet. I want you first." Dean said, getting onto his knees on the ground with the angel. "Let me help you out of your pants."

Castiel nodded eagerly and cooperated as Dean slid his pants and underwear down his legs, setting them aside with the rest of their clothes. The grass was cold and wet when he sat down on it, but Dean was warm and strong.

Dean smiled happily at the way Castiel moved to cling to him, letting the angel push him down to lay on the ground. "Do you want me to help you stretch out?"

"Yes, please." Castiel nodded.

"Come here, Angel."

Castiel moved up on Dean's body, letting the human guide him up so he was straddling his face.

"You're so hard already." Dean chuckled, taking hold of Castiel's ass and spreading the cheeks apart.

Castiel could only moan in reply when he felt Dean's tongue start to lick over and prod at his entrance. He grabbed onto the back of one of the metal bleachers for stability. In a few moments, Dean had his tongue inside of him, coaxing his muscles into relaxing so he could work open. With the amount of trust Castiel put in Dean and how comfortable he was with his human, it didn't take him long to relax into putty in Dean's hands.

Out of his mouth came a litany of Dean's name, various praises in Enochian, and moans of ecstasy.

Dean smiled against Castiel's ass at the sound of his rough voice chanting his name like it was a hymn.

"I think you're about ready, Angel." Dean murmured after a while when he could easily fit a couple fingers inside of Cas along with his tongue. "Do you want to stay on top of me, or should we switch?"

"I want to stay on top." Castiel panted, moving to grab the other packet of lube as well as the other condom.

Dean nodded and watched with delight as Castiel moved back down his body, opened up the packet of lube, and poured some onto his fingers. He used his free hand for stability while he bent over and pushed the lubed fingers inside of himself. His blue eyes had started to glow a bit more, and could now illuminate the tops of his cheeks, as well as the way his eyebrows turned up. Dean could only hope they'd start glowing even more so he could clearly see the way his face contorted in pleasure.

Once the angel decided he was ready, he pulled the flavored condom off of Dean's cock and replaced it with the lubricated one. He used the leftover lube from the packet to further lubricate Dean's cock, just for safe measure.

Then he got positioned over Dean's lap and took hold of his human's hands. Dean groaned happily as he watched himself disappear inside of the angel until Castiel was completely seated on top of him.

"Oh, there you go, Angel. Fuck, you look so good like this. You always do." Dean sighed, intertwining their fingers together and squeezing Castiel's hands.

"You feel amazing." Castiel breathed. "Oh, Dean. I love you."

"I love you, too, Cas." Dean replied.

Castiel smiled and leaned down to kiss Dean's lips briefly before he straightened up to start moving his hips. Soon enough, he was bouncing on Dean's cock, shifting his angle just so, so Dean's cock brushed against his prostate with each bounce. His litany of Enochian, Dean's name and moans returned with a vengeance.

Dean grinned and moaned with Castiel, holding onto his hands, happily watching the angel throw himself into ecstasy with him. "That's it, baby. Jesus, fuck, you're so hot." he praised, doing all he could to not finish until Castiel did.

Castiel's eyes started to glow more and more as his orgasm built up further and further in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to ask Dean to touch him, but he knew how happy it made him when he finished from his human's cock alone. So, he willed himself to focus only on Dean and his cock and how amazing it felt inside of him.

"Dean, Dean, Dean…" He keened as he felt himself getting dangerously close to finishing.

"You're close, aren't you, baby? Fuck, so am I." Dean groaned, his balls tightening at the sight of Castiel on top of him, his bliss written all over his face, while precum dripped from his cock.

"Dean… Dean, I'm going to…" Castiel gasped out between heated moans.

"Do it, baby. Fuck, cum for me." Dean groaned out in reply.

Castiel lasted a couple more good bounces before he came, his eyes glowing a bright white-blue as he threw his head back and moaned Dean's name up to Heaven.

Dean came the moment Castiel tightened down around him. He clung to the angel's hands, moaning out Castiel's name in reply.

Once they'd both finished, Castiel lifted off of Dean and moved to lie down on the grass beside him.

Dean moved to take the condom off, tie it up, and tossed it aside. With that, he happily moved to pull the angel into his arms, staying close to his lover.

Castiel smiled and started to pepper soft, chaste kisses all over Dean's face as if he wanted to give him even more freckles. Dean wasn't sure he'd be opposed to that. If his face became so covered in freckles that his face became darker than his neck, he could wake up every morning happily, knowing his angel adored him that much.

"I love you, Dean." Castiel hummed, kissing Dean's nose.

Dean couldn't help but grin at the kiss and hugged Castiel close, pulling the angel on top of him.

"I love you, too, Cas," Dean replied. "Do you wanna get something to eat before we head home? Late night burgers or something?"

"That would be nice." Castiel nodded.

"Great. Let's get you cleaned up, though. You came all over your stomach." Dean laughed. He pulled a small wet wipe from the wallet in his discarded pants that he'd stolen from a chicken wing restaurant. With that, he gently cleaned the semen from Castiel's stomach, and then the remainder of the lube from his ass.

They kissed each other warmly for a little bit longer before finally getting up to get dressed again. Dean let Castiel straighten out his hair for him, even if that entailed the angel licking his hand and using it to smooth down the hair. Once they were both clothed, Dean made sure he had his wallet and the keys to the Impala and took Castiel's hand before walking with him back to the car.

Castiel stayed close to Dean. The angel always got clingy and snuggly after sex, and would probably stay that way well into the next morning. Not that Dean was complaining.

Dean slid into the front seat of the car, letting Cas sit next to him in the passenger seat as he started the engine.

While it would be easier on his wallet to just go to the nearest McDonald's for burgers, it didn't feel good enough. After having sex with an angel, he figured Cas deserved something better than the Golden Arches. Besides, it was prom night, a special occasion. It would be totally fine for him to dip into the money he'd made from doing odd jobs around the neighborhood if it meant a good burger and fries before they went home and crawled into bed together.

So, Dean turned on the cassette tape of Elvis Presley's greatest hits, the one he knew Cas liked and started to drive to a local 24/7 diner. At the red lights, Dean put on a show of lip syncing, which made Castiel smile happily at him. After a little bit, they both started to actually sing along as Dean drove down the streets of Lawrence. Both of them were happy and smiling when they pulled into the parking lot of the diner.

Dean kept close to Cas and held the door open for the angel as they walked inside together, getting them a small booth for two people.

They ordered and ate together happily, chatting contently. When they paid and left, they were both full and happy. Dean was sufficiently tired when they finally got home, so he changed into his pajamas and let Castiel do the same before the angel climbed into his bed to sleep with him through the night.

At about ten the next morning, Sam wandered into the room to wake up his brother and let him know their mom had breakfast ready for everyone downstairs. When he walked in, the only other person in the room showing signs of life was Castiel, who he found quietly lying still while Dean snuggled into his side, holding him like a child holds a stuffed animal.

"Good morning, Sam," Castiel said softly.

"Morning, Cas. You guys have a good night?" Sam replied.

"It was pleasant, yes. What did you do while we were out?" Castiel nodded.

"I found the Breakfast Club playing on TV and watched that with a bag of popcorn," Sam replied. "Oh, some of my friends will be coming over this afternoon so we can all study for finals."

Castiel nodded, vaguely remembering the conversation he'd had with Sam in which the human had explained the concept of final tests at the end of the school year to him. The younger Winchester boy was only a freshman, but he took his finals and midterm tests very seriously, even if it meant Dean calling him a nerd.

"I'll do my best to keep Dean out of your way," Castiel promised.

"Thanks, buddy," Sam said with a warm smile at the angel. "You mind helping me get him up? Mom made chocolate chip pancakes and his are getting cold."

"Of course." Castiel nodded, turning towards Dean a bit and gently shaking the other's shoulder.

"Dean, it's time to wake up," he said, speaking normally.

Dean groaned, squeezed his eyes shut, and then finally opened them a bit. "Hi, Angel," he said drowsily, not aware that they weren't alone yet.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel replied, letting Dean press a drowsy, messy kiss to his cheek. "Your mother has breakfast downstairs for you."

"Mmm, okay…" Dean hummed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before sitting up in the bed. It took him a moment of staring at Sam to register that his brother was in the room. "Sammy, what're you doing in here?"

"Came to wake your ass up. What did you think?" Sam replied with a small shrug. "Hey, I'm gonna have a study group coming this afternoon, so stay out of our way, 'kay?"

"Is that code for you and a bunch of other nerds getting together and playing Dungeons and Dragons in the basement?" Dean teased.

"No, Dean, sometimes people actually take their grades seriously. I'd like to get into a good college, unlike you." Sam replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Do you have to be a little bitch so early in the morning?"

"It's ten, Dean. It's pretty late in the morning."

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of my room before I drop kick your scrawny ass out."

Sam breathed a small laugh before obediently moving to leave the room. "Whatever, Musclehead."

Dean lobbed a pillow at his younger brother's head as Sam left. He sighed and turned his attention to Castiel. "Do you think it would be fine if I just had a pajama day?"

"I'm sure it would be. It's Saturday, I'm sure people would understand." Castiel replied, getting up to pull on his sweater from the previous day over the old t-shirt he'd worn to bed.

"Awesome. Let's go get food." Dean hummed, kissing Castiel one more time on the cheek before they left the room together.


End file.
